Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the infamous founder of crypto exchange FTX, would be subject to the forfeiture of almost $700 million in assets if found liable for fraud, according to recent court documents. In a recent court filing, U.S. federal prosecutor Damian Williams stated that the government politely offers notice that the assets subject to forfeiture include a lengthy list of fiat, stock, and cryptocurrency assets.
Seizure of Million-Dollar Assets
According to the documents, the government seized the majority of the assets between January 4 and January 19, and it also seeks to lay claim to all funds and assets pertaining to three distinct Binance accounts. The largest allocations include 55,273,469 Robinhood (HOOD) shares valued at around $525.5 million at the time of writing, $94.5 million held via Silvergate Bank, $49.9 million held via Farmington State Bank, and $20.7 million held via ED&F Man Capital Markets, Inc.
In this case, the government has requested a forfeiture order because it claims that these assets were obtained illegally by using customer deposits. While members of SBF’s inner circle including Gary Wang and Caroline Ellison have confessed and worked with investigators on their involvement in FTX’s collapse, SBF himself has pleaded not guilty to all eight of the counts brought against him.
FTX Exposed for Fraud in Africa
In other FTX-related news, a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report revealed subpar marketing that the exchange launched in Africa just before it filed for bankruptcy in November. The campaign in question promoted USD-pegged stablecoins as more inflation-resistant investments than local currencies, as well as the opportunity to earn 8% annually through staking rewards programs.
Any African FTX consumer who was persuaded by the company’s marketing strategy lost funds when the company went bankrupt. Former FTX education lead for Africa Pius Okedinachi told the WSJ that the exchange controlled over $500 million in monthly trading volume in Africa, with Nigeria accounting for the majority of the volume.
