- Prosecutors to seize shares of Robinhood, believed to belong to embattled former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.Â
- FTX, BlockFi, and SBF are currently claiming the shares of Robinhood, worth $465 million.
- The Department of Justice has not admitted that the shares belong to bankrupt companies.
- Prosecutors have further confiscated U.S. bank accounts associated with FTX’s Bahamas business extension.
According to reports, the prosecutors are pushing to seize the shares of Robinhood in what they perceived to belong to embattled former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. BlockFi and FTX have earlier laid claims to the Robinhood stock that U.S. prosecutors seek to seize.Â
According to an affidavit, Bankman-Fried acquired around 7.42% of the stock-trading app through Emergent Fidelity Technologies Ltd. Investigation revealed that the former billionaire acquired the shares with funds borrowed from Alameda Research. Sam Bankman-Fried said in his testimony that he owned 90% of the stocks from Emergent, while Gary Wang owned 10%.
FTX, BlockFi, and SBF have all claimed the 56 million shares of Robinhood, which is $465 million in valuation. BlockFi filed a lawsuit against Sam Bankman-Fried and Emergent to claim the shares. Before filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection, Alameda Pledged the shares as collateral to secure the repayment of a loan made by BlockFi.
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As part of the ongoing investigation, Shapiro said prosecutors had also confiscated U.S bank accounts connected to FTX’s business extension in the Bahamas. According to court records, there is about $143 million in Silvergate Bank and Farmington State Bank. Presently, the funds in question and the shares of Robinhood are not in the custody of any FTX-related firms in Chapter 11.Â
However, the Department of Justice is yet to admit that the shares in question belong to any of the bankrupt organizations. The Robinhood stock closed at $8.36 per share yesterday.
Allegations Before FTX Sam Bankman-Fried
Prosecutors accused Sam Bankman-Fried of committing years-long fraud. The embattled former FTX CEO is facing charges from the Department of Justice, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Future Commodities Trading Commission.
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In a court appearance, SBF pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. However, he admitted to how the mismanagement of users’ funds led to the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange, affecting scores of customers. In his defense, he argued that he’s not criminally liable for the circumstances that led to the collapse of FTX.
On the Flipside
- An Attorney representing FTX said the assets in question are subject to litigation, and any parties can lay claims to them. Meanwhile, U.S. Attorney Seth Shapiro divulged that the confusion regarding the ownership of the stock would be sorted out in forfeiture proceedings.
Why You Should Care
The FTX case is moving rapidly as more details emerge and more assets are being seized by the authorities.
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