Federal prosecutors have confiscated assets worth more than $600 million from Sam Bankman-Fried, the now-disgraced founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, according to a recently filed court document.
The seizure is an outcome of the criminal case against Bankman-Fried, the 30-year-old who pled not guilty last month of charges relating to the alleged theft of billions of dollars from clients and investors via the exchange.
The list of assets that could be forfeited as a result of the criminal charges, as stated in the document, includes cash in different accounts and banks, as well as over 55 million shares in Robinhood.
The most recent seizure occurred on Thursday when the US government confiscated $94,570,490.63 from Silvergate Bank. The filing shows that several Binance accounts were also confiscated, although their values were not included.
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried arriving at Manhattan federal court in New York City, January 3, 2023, for a hearing on the day of the collapse and subsequent bankruptcy of the cryptocurrency exchange.
David Dee Delgado/ReutersFILE
Bankman-Fried was charged with eight counts of fraud and conspiracy. Federal prosecutors accused Bankman-Fried of being one of the main organizers of “one of the largest financial frauds in American history,” claiming that he siphoned billions of dollars from FTX clients or investors to his privately owned hedge fund Alameda Research and used the funds to purchase luxury real estate and to make millions of dollars in political donations.
Bankman-Fried is currently residing in the Bahamas, in a multimillion dollar mansion on the outskirts of London. His probable trial date is set for October.
His arrest last month came as a surprise, with Bankman-Fried insisting in multiple interviews, one of which was with ABC News, that he was unaware of any misuses of funds by FTX clientele.
In the ABC News interview, Bankman-Fried jokingly submitted to George Stephanopoulos that he only had one ATM card with $100,000 left in his bank account. “That’s honestly, as far as I know, that’s what I have,” he stated.
