FTX Deploys a Forensic Team to Track Its Customers’ Hacked Assets

• FTX has hired financial forensic investigators to find the missing digital assets of its customers.
• AlixPartners is expected to help FTX in finding the lost billions of dollars.

FTX, the bankrupt crypto exchange has hired financial forensic investigators to find the missing cryptocurrencies. According to a recent report from the Wall Street Journal, the new management of FTX has appointed a group of forensic investigators from the advisory company, AlixPartners to help find the billions of dollars that have disappeared from the exchange. 

The forensic team is expected to be tasked with “asset tracing” to find and retrieve the missing digital assets, in addition to the restructuring work being done by FTX. The AlixPartners is managed by Matt Jacques, a former chief accountant for the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) enforcement division.

Where Have the Assets Gone?

On November 11, the hackers stole about $450 million worth of assets from wallets owned by FTX and FTX.US. Following this, Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX said in an interview that he was close to identifying the hacker. According to SBF, it will be “either an ex-employee or somewhere someone installed malware on an ex-employee’s computer.”

Later, an attorney for FTX claimed that a significant amount of assets from FTX were either stolen or missing. However, Bankman-Fried recently stated that he was unable to explain what happened to billions of dollars that were transferred from the exchange to its linked trading company, Alameda Research.

Moreover, John Ray, the recently appointed CEO of FTX, has said that the company’s financial reporting is unreliable and that Mr. Bankman-Fried and his co-workers are “potentially compromised.” Additionally, Ray claimed that FTX used software to hide the misappropriation of customer funds.

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