FTX locates close to $5 billion, excluding seized assets
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FTX locates $5 billion in additional assets, with the extent of customer losses still being unknown.
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Former FTX chief executive Sam Bankman-Fried walks from the Manhattan federal court after securing bail in New York City, US December 22, 2022 (Reuters).
More than $5 billion worth of assets have been located, according to a counsel for the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, a US bankruptcy court was informed on Wednesday, nevertheless, it is still unknown how much money clients have lost.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX, is charged by prosecutors with arranging an "epic" scam that may have cost investors, clients, and lenders billions of dollars.
In Delaware, during an address to US Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey, FTX lawyer Andy Dietderich said "We have located over 5 billion dollars of cash, liquid cryptocurrency, and liquid investment securities."
According to Dietderich, the newly-located assets do not include assets confiscated by the Securities Commission of the Bahamas, where FTX was headquartered and where Bankman-Fried resided at the time of his detention.
The majority of FTX's customers and investors experiencing losses remain unidentified throughout the proceedings.
However, Tom Brady, his ex-wife Gisele Bündchen, and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft were all cited in court documents.
When accused of defrauding investors, Bankman-Fried submitted a not-guilty plea.
It is not uncommon for criminal defendants to enter a not-guilty plea at the outset. Defendants have the option of changing their plea at a later date.
Bankman-Fried has been released on a $250 million bond since his extradition from the Bahamas.
In further detail, he has been subject to electronic surveillance since his release and is compelled to live with his parents, both professors at Stanford Law School in California.
The MIT graduate has been charged with two charges of wire fraud and six counts of conspiracy, including conspiracy to launder money and commit campaign finance violations. If convicted, he may face up to 115 years in prison.
Bankman-Fried admitted to making mistakes while running FTX, but he believes he is not criminally culpable.
The 30-year-old crypto tycoon rode a surge in the value of bitcoin and other digital assets to become a multi-billionaire and a powerful political donor in the United States until FTX went bankrupt in early November following a rush of withdrawals. On November 11, the exchange declared bankruptcy.
