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☆ Bahamian regulator says it seized $3.5 billion of FTX crypto assets for 'safekeeping'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Securities Commission of The Bahamas says it seized $3.5 billion worth of cryptocurrency from collapsed crypto exchange FTX. In a media release late Thursday, the watchdog confirmed the total sum taken from FTX's Bahamian subsidiary, FTX Digital Markets, and added that the funds were moved into its own digital wallets "for safekeeping." The regulator had previously confirmed it was holding some of FTX's digital assets but did not specify the amount. The transfer took place on Nov. 12, the day after FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. The regulator said it took the funds after receiving information from Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX's disgraced co-founder, concerning cyberattacks on the systems of FTX's Bahamian unit.

☆ Crumbling tech stocks and recession fears have cratered the fortunes of the wealthiest Americans including Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Britta Pedersen-Pool/Getty Images; Arif Hudaverdi Yaman/Getty Images; KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/Getty Images; Mike Cohen/Getty Images; Yuqing Liu/Business Insider1. Besides the fallen crypto king, many of these shrinking fortunes can be chalked up to this year's bloodbath in the tech stocks. How has Elon Musk's involvement with Twitter impacted your outlook for Tesla stock? Tesla stock price on December, 29, 2022 Markets Insider10. Tesla stock climbed Wednesday as dip-buyers poured into the EV maker.

Dec 27 (Reuters) - FTX customers filed a class action lawsuit against the failed crypto exchange and its former top executives including Sam Bankman-Fried on Tuesday, seeking a declaration that the company's holdings of digital assets belong to customers. The proposed class, which wants to represent more than 1 million FTX customers in the United States and abroad, seeks a declaration that traceable customer assets are not FTX property. The customer class also wants the court to find specifically that property held at Alameda that is traceable to customers is not Alameda property, according to the complaint. The lawsuit seeks a declaration from the court that funds held in FTX U.S. accounts for U.S. customers and in FTX Trading accounts for non-U.S. customers or other traceable customer assets are not FTX property. If the court determines it is FTX property, then the customers seek a ruling that they have a priority right to repayment over other creditors.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried finds sympathy from Bahamians after the FTX implosion - but local rules make it very unlikely they were ever invested in crypto
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Sam Bankman-Fried has found sympathy from Bahamians after his crypto empire imploded, according to a New York Times report. One reason Bahamians may express sympathy towards SBF is because of local laws that make it difficult for them to invest in crypto. Sign up for our newsletter to get the inside scoop on what traders are talking about — delivered daily to your inbox. His presence in the Bahamas attracted well-to-do investors to the island via crypto conferences. That's because local rules make it difficult for Bahamians to buy cryptocurrencies, as there are various hurdles they need to navigate.

☆ The judge in the FTX fraud case stepped down because her husband works for a firm that advised Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto exchange last year
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Ronnie Abrams, the US district judge in the FTX fraud case, stepped down and has been replaced. She said that her husband is a partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, which last year advised FTX. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan has taken over the FTX case. Ronnie Abrams, a judge at the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, said in a filing on Friday that she was stepping down. On Tuesday, the case was reassigned to Lewis A. Kaplan, a senior judge at the court, legal filings show.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried borrowed $546 million from his hedge fund to buy a Robinhood stake
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

In an affidavit that emerged Tuesday, Bankman-Fried said he and FTX co-founder Gary Wang borrowed more than $546 million from the hedge fund, Alameda Research, which they used to purchase the Robinhood shares via a holding company primarily controlled by Bankman-Fried. Wang has since pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud and conspiracy, in cooperation with US prosecutors investigating FTX’s collapse. Four separate entities have laid claim to the approximately 56 million shares, worth about $450 million. Also claiming the Robinhood shares are bankrupt crypto lender BlockFi, and an individual FTX creditor. BlockFi is suing Bankman-Fried for the Robinhood shares, which BlockFi claims it is owed after Alameda defaulted on $680 million in collateralized loan obligations.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried will enter a plea next week in FTX case, court filings show
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Sam Bankman-Fried is scheduled to enter a plea on January 3. Two of his top lieutenants, including Caroline Ellison, already pleaded guilty to a fraud scheme. download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy PolicyFTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is expected to enter a plea at a court hearing next week, court filings show. A docket entry on Wednesday designated it as an arraignment hearing, meaning that Bankman-Fried is now scheduled to enter his plea. On Tuesday, the criminal cases of Bankman-Fried, Ellison, and Wang were assigned to US District Judge Lewis Kaplan.

☆ This little-known firm with a weird website was central to the misappropriation of FTX customers' money, regulators say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Gretchen Morgenson | Gretchen Morgenson Is The Senior Financial Reporter For The Nbc News Investigative Unit. A Former Stockbroker | She Won The Pulitzer Prize In For Her | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Still, North Dimension had a crucial role in the FTX mess, regulators now say. In fact, they contend, the little-known company was central to the furtive misappropriation of FTX customers’ funds. But North Dimension Inc. also appears to have been a fake online electronics retailer, an NBC News investigation found. The second North Dimension website is sparse, with just two pages superimposed on a photo of a mountain range. An analysis by DomainTools shows this North Dimension site was created on Oct. 3, 2022, and registered in Ontario, Canada.

Law firms Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP FollowDec 27 (Reuters) - Sam Bankman-Fried's criminal case over the collapse of his FTX cryptocurrency exchange has been reassigned to a judge recently known for handling defamation lawsuits against former U.S. President Donald Trump and a sexual abuse lawsuit against Britain's Prince Andrew. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan replaces his colleague Ronnie Abrams, who recused herself on Friday after learning that the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell, where her husband is a partner, advised FTX in 2021. Trump has sought the dismissal of both lawsuits, including a battery claim. Kaplan also recently oversaw Virginia Giuffre's civil lawsuit accusing Prince Andrew of sexually abusing her when she was 17 at the London home of Ghislaine Maxwell, the now-convicted former associate of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware and Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried was reportedly visited by 'Big Short' author for 'several hours' while under house arrest
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

"The Big Short" author Michael Lewis met with Sam Bankman-Fried for "several hours" last week, The New York Post reported. Lewis visited Bankman-Fried's parents' home where he is under house arrest. Author Michael Lewis met with Bankman-Fried for "several hours" soon after the latter was put under house arrest at his parents' home in Palo Alto, The New York Post reported on Tuesday. "The Big Short" won the Oscar for best adapted screenplay. In November, the Hollywood trade The Ankler reported that Lewis had been interviewing Bankman-Fried for six months.

☆ FTX customers sent money to a fake electronics retailer with a website full of misspelled words that was key to funding SBF's Alameda, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX had customers wire money to North Dimension, a mysterious company with a fake electronics retail website, NBC News reported. Money sent to North Dimension would end up funding Alameda Research's trading activity, the SEC alleged. The North Dimension website has been deactivated, but had misspelled words and claimed to sell laptops and phones. And according to NBC News, North Dimension operated a fake online electronics retail shop, which has now been disabled and archived. Some of the items listed on North Dimension showed "sale" prices that were retailing well above their normal price, per NBC News.

☆ FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried bought Robinhood stock using hundreds of millions of dollars from his trading firm Alameda Research
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried took funds from his trading firm, Alameda Research, to buy Robinhood stock, court documents shows. Later, Alameda took out a loan and pledged those same shares as collateral, CoinDesk reported. Later, Alameda took out a loan and pledged those same shares as collateral, CoinDesk said. Now-bankrupt BlockFi alleged that it has rights to the Robinhood shares based on deals Bankman-Fried agreed to in November, a separate court document shows. The development is the latest example to come to light of how the finances of FTX, Alameda and other pieces of Bankman-Fried's empire were entangled.

☆ 'Pharma Bro' Martin Shkreli advises Sam Bankman-Fried on potential prison time, saying he should prepare by listening to rap music and shaving his head
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Disgraced FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested and faces eight criminal charges. Martin Shkreli, released from prison in May, advised him on preparing for potential prison time. He told the podcast "Unchained" that Bankman-Fried should shave his head and listen to rap music. Bankman-Fried's charges include wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy, and money laundering. In 2017, he was found guilty of securities fraud and was sentenced to seven years in prison.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried reportedly avoided the typical sardine breakfast in Bahamas prison in favor of toast and jam
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Fox Hill prison located in Nassau typically serves grits and sardines for breakfast, and rice and beef for lunch. But for Bankman-Fried, his diet during his stay at Fox Hill included toast and jam for breakfast, and stewed greens and vegetables for lunch and dinners. "By Fox Hill standards, Mr. Bankman-Fried received royal treatment," The New York Times reported. Fox Hill prison is commonly referred to as "Fox Hell" prison by locals on the island. Fox Hill prison warden Doan Cleare told the New York Times that while Bankman-Fried was "well cared for," he didn't receive preferential treatment.

☆ Caroline Ellison told a judge she's 'truly sorry' for defrauding FTX customers – and 'knew that it was wrong'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Caroline Ellison told a judge she's "truly sorry" for her role in FTX's collapse, per New York Times. The former CEO of Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto-trading firm Alameda Research told US District Judge Ronnie Abrams in Manhattan federal court "I am truly sorry for what I did. The court unsealed the transcript of her plea hearing on December 22. Ellison told the judge she went along with the decision of her ex-boyfriend Bankman-Fried and others to conceal the close relationship between FTX and Alameda, according to the transcript seen by The Times. She also said she agreed with the decision to divert billions in customer deposits at FTX to pay off loans of Alameda.

☆ Business partners turn on Sam Bankman-Fried
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Last week, as FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was being extradited to the United States from the Bahamas, two of his former business partners pleaded guilty to multiple charges of fraud and conspiracy. “I am truly sorry for what I did,” Ellison told the court. She and Bankman-Fried were close business associates who briefly dated. Bankman-Fried, 30, appeared Thursday in a US courtroom in New York, where a federal judge released him on a $250 million bond. Following his court appearance, Bankman-Fried was spotted in a business class lounge at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.

☆ FTX execs hid $8 billion in liabilities in a customer account that Bankman-Fried referred to as 'our Korean friend's account,' CFTC prosecutors allege
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-25 | by ( Laila Maidan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Alameda Research borrowed billions of dollars of customer funds from FTX exchange. The firm's liabilities were then masked under a pseudonym account on FTX. Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang have pleaded guilty to numerous counts of fraud. The lawsuit also claimed that Bankman-Fried would later refer to that account as "our Korean friend's account" and/or "the weird Korean account." Wang pleaded guilty to four counts of similar charges.

☆ FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was 'chilling' in the American Airlines lounge at JFK before flying business class to his parents' home to await trial
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

FTX cofounder Sam Bankman-Fried was seen at JFK Airport in a business class lounge on Thursday. Litquidity tweeted pictures of the former CEO before he boarded a flight to San Francisco. Bankman-Fried was released on a $250 million bond while awaiting trial. The cofounder and former CEO of collapsed crypto trading platform FTX was released on a $250 million bond on Thursday. Litquidity tweeted pictures of Bankman-Fried at JFK on Thursday.

Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang both pleaded guilty and are cooperating with prosecutors as part of their plea agreements. Roos said Bankman-Fried carried out a "fraud of epic proportions" that led to the loss of billions of dollars of customer and investor funds. Bankman-Fried has acknowledged risk-management failures at FTX but said he does not believe he has criminal liability. A flurry of customer withdrawals in early November amid concerns about commingling of FTX funds with Alameda prompted FTX to declare bankruptcy on Nov. 11. Bankman-Fried was arrested in the capital Nassau on Dec. 12 and arrived in the United States on Wednesday after consenting to extradition.

Companies Ledgerx LLC FollowNEW YORK, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Sam Bankman-Fried was released on a $250 million bond package on Thursday while he awaits trial over the collapse of the FTX crypto exchange, which a U.S. prosecutor called a "fraud of epic proportions." His defense lawyer, Mark Cohen, declined to comment after the hearing in Manhattan federal court. U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel Gorenstein set Bankman-Fried's next court date for Jan. 3, 2023, before U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams, who will handle the case. The bond is meant to ensure that if Bankman-Fried flees, the government could confiscate the family's assets - including their Palo Alto home - up to $250 million. Details of their cooperation were kept under wraps until Bankman-Fried left the Bahamas, according to court papers filed on Thursday.

☆ Fact Check-Images of planes, ships captured from low orbit do exist
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Contrary to a claim on social media, images taken from spacecraft in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) of planes flying by or ships at sea do exist. At least one photo of a flying plane taken from a spacecraft in LEO illustrates the problem. The image is credited to SkySat, a constellation of 21 satellites owned by Planet (here), all of which orbit at between 400 and 600 kilometers (250 to 370 miles) above Earth. More images of the container ship in the Suez Canal taken from Leo can be seen (here). Images of planes in flight, ships and cities captured from spacecraft in Low Earth Orbit do exist.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX execs received billions in hidden loans, ex-Alameda CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Sam Bankman-Fried and other FTX executives received billions of dollars in secret loans from the crypto mogul’s Alameda Research, the hedge fund’s former chief told a judge when she pleaded guilty to her role in the exchange’s collapse. Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang both pleaded guilty and are cooperating with prosecutors as part of their plea agreements. Bankman-Fried has acknowledged risk-management failures at FTX but said he does not believe he has criminal liability. A flurry of customer withdrawals in early November amid concerns about commingling of FTX funds with Alameda prompted FTX to declare bankruptcy on Nov. 11. Bankman-Fried was arrested in capital Nassau on Dec. 12 and arrived in the United States on Wednesday after consenting to extradition.

☆ What's next for Caroline Ellison, Sam Bankman-Fried's ex who helped run Alameda Research
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Caroline Ellison, Alameda's ex-CEO, is out on a $250,000 bond after pleading guilty in the FTX case. She and FTX cofounder Gary Wang are working with feds probing Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto empire. The plea deals that Ellison, who was the CEO of Bankman-Fried's trading firm Alameda Research, and FTX cofounder Gary Wang have struck with federal prosecutors in New York free them each on $250,000 bonds. The counts against Ellison carry a maximum penalty of 110 years, if the sentences for each were to be stacked up. They won't be sentenced until after prosecutors unveil much more of their investigation and Bankman-Fried's own fate becomes clearer.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried doesn't 'have the typical profile of a crook' – and his fear of failure might explain FTX's collapse, Bill Ackman says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ackman compared SBF to convicted fraudster Bernie Madoff, saying neither "have the typical profile of a crook.' The crypto exchange cofounded by Bankman-Fried seems to have been profitable and backed by top venture capitalists, Ackman said Friday. This reminds me of Madoff," tweeted Ackman, the founder and CEO of hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management. Young Wall Street trader Bankman-Fried went from relative obscurity to the head of crypto empire FTX in just four years. That runaway success soon after leaving a top college sheltered Bankman-Fried from learning how to cope with failure, Ackman suggested.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried's law professor parents have stuck close by their son through the fallout from FTX's collapse. Here's what we know about them.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced cofounder and former CEO of collapsed crypto exchange FTX, is moving back in with his parents. ReutersBankman-Fried, who faces multiple fraud charges tied to the spectacular collapse of FTX, was released on $250 million bail Thursday, shortly after he landed in the US after being extradited from the Bahamas. As part of his bail terms, Bankman-Fried, who also cofounded crypto trading firm Alameda Research, is required to stay at his parents' home while he awaits trial. His parents, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, live in a multimillion-dollar home in Stanford, in the San Francisco Bay Area, according to news reports and state records. Zillow estimates the value of the five-bedroom home at about $4 million, while Redfin's estimate is $3.1 million.

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