U.S. prosecutors are moving to seize the US$460 million worth of Robinhood Markets Inc., shares linked to Sam Bankman-Fried, the former chief executive officer of Bahamas-based bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX.com, Department of Justice (DOJ) counsel Seth Shapiro told the bankruptcy judge on Wednesday.
See related article: Sam Bankman-Fried used Alameda Research money to buy Robinhood shares
Fast facts
Shapiro told the bankruptcy court hearing in Delaware that the DOJ does not believe the shares were the property of a bankruptcy estate, and its ownership could be determined in a forfeiture proceeding.
Bankman-Fried, who is currently awaiting trial after pleading not guilty to fraud charges, and FTX cofounder Gary wang formed a holding company in May 2022 called Emergent Fidelity Technologies Ltd. to purchase 56 million Robinhood shares with US$546 million in loans from Alameda Research, the brokerage arm of FTX.
Three parties, bankrupt crypto lender BlockFi, FTX creditor Yonathan Ben Shimon and Bankman-Fried, have filed court actions in attempts to gain control of the shares.
Lawyers for FTX requested in late December that the shares remain frozen as the legal proceedings continue.
On Dec. 13, new FTX CEO John J. Ray III told congress that the exchange lost US$8 billion of customer deposits and that Bankman-Fried and select executives at the exchange had access to customer funds.
Bankman-Fried is facing charges of bank and wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy, and could possibly spend the rest of his life in prison.
Wang and Caroline Ellison, the former chief of Alameda Research, have both accepted plea bargains for reduced sentences.
See related article: FTX asks court to keep US$450 mln Robinhood shares frozen
Source: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-authorities-seize-us-460-045147638.html