New court filings claim that bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX funneled $2.2 billion U.S. to founder and former chief executive officer (CEO) Sam Bankman-Fried.
In court documents, the current management of FTX, who took over after the crypto exchange filed for bankruptcy last fall, claim that Bankman-Fried received billions of payments through related entities.
In total, $3.2 billion U.S. was transferred through payments and loans to Bankman-Fried and other FTX founders and senior executives.
Those payments came mostly from the Alameda Research hedge fund, a sister company of FTX that was run by Sam Bankman-Fried’s then girlfriend.
The transfers did not apparently include more than $240 million U.S. that was used to buy luxury properties in the Bahamas and make political and charitable donations.
FTX filed for bankruptcy on November 11 last year, citing $8 billion U.S. in missing funds and more than one million creditors.
FTX's new CEO, John Ray, has said that his top priority is recovering assets to repay FTX’s creditors.
Prosecutors in the U.S. have charged Bankman-Fried, age 31, with stealing billions of dollars in customer funds and making illegal political donations to buy influence in Washington, D.C.
Bankman-Fried has denied all charges and his trial is scheduled to begin in New York City on October 2 of this year.
