FTX Debtors’ Estate in Legal Battle Over SBF Forfeited Assets

The FTX Debtors’ Estate is currently facing claims over the ownership of assets forfeited by Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) following his criminal conviction for fraud and money laundering. In a recent petition submitted to the US District Court Southern District of New York, the debtors’ estate is seeking to establish ancillary proceedings to address these claims.

Three-Way Battle for SBF’s Forfeited Assets

The FTX Debtors Estate has filed a petition to claim all seized assets of Sam Bankman-Fried, divided into six main categories:

• Proceeds from the interlocutory sales of Robinhood shares held in the name of Emergent Fidelity Technologies
• Funds in FTX Digital Markets’ accounts at Farmington State Bank and Silvergate Bank
• Funds in Binance accounts under Alameda Research Ltd. and Evergreen North Enterprises
• Two aircraft
• Funds in a Signature Bank account owned by Bankman-Fried and former FTX Exec. Luk Wai Chan
• Political contributions by Bankman Fried and other former FTX employees traceable to fraud and money laundering

The FTX Debtors Estate claims a superior right to these assets as they were held in the company’s name or funded by the company’s assets. Meanwhile, Emergent has also filed for rights to claim proceeds from the Robinhood market shares, arguing that the stock was purchased in the name of the company, not the defendant.

Additionally, a group of FTX creditors is laying claims to all forfeited assets, arguing that they were procured by FTX customer assets and should be returned to these customers rather than the FTX debtors’ estate. This group proposes an in-kind settlement, returning assets to creditors on a 1:1 basis rather than in dollar form as proposed by the bankruptcy estate.

After reviewing the petitions, the court will schedule hearings for each party to adjudicate their claims over the forfeited assets, ensuring fair distribution.

Crypto Market Overview

In other news, the total crypto market cap has decreased by 3.2% in the last week, reaching $2.3 trillion.

Featured image from Forkast, chart from Tradingview