- DOJ Seizes $16 Million in FTX-Linked Cryptocurrency
- Most of its holdings include Solana.
- Assets believed to be related to bribery.
Two years after FTX suffered a tragic collapse, new details about its operations are still emerging. The recent recovery effort has once again put the corruption allegations against former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) in the spotlight.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently decided to seize $16 million in FTX cryptocurrency assets. These assets were allegedly used to pay bribes approved by the SBF.
DOJ moves to seize FTX over bribery charges
New details about FTX corruption continue to emerge. On Tuesday, November 12, the DOJ filed a civil forfeiture lawsuit seeking to seize $16 million in assets related to the failed deal. Funds in the Binance account include Solana, Internet Computer, Avalanche, Ripple, and Cardano. Solana accounted for more than half of these assets, at $8.5 million.
According to court documents, the funds were linked to bribes approved by Sam Bankman-Fried. The Justice Department alleges that in November 2021, SBF authorized Alameda Research to transfer $40 million USDT to bribe Chinese officials. At the time, FTX was attempting to unfreeze $1 billion worth of FTX cryptocurrency assets seized in China.
These assets flowed into various wallets in suspicious patterns, and daily stablecoin transfers were quickly converted to altcoins. These transactions resulted in authorities finding the Binance wallet still holding $16 million worth of cryptocurrency.
SBF has donated millions of dollars to American politicians.
FTX’s attempts to bribe Chinese officials reveal a widespread pattern of financial impropriety and misuse of user funds at the exchange. According to previous reports, FTX lost $8.9 billion in user funds due to direct theft and financial mismanagement.
According to court documents in the SBF case, prosecutors alleged that FTX insiders stole $3.2 billion from the platform. SBF himself reportedly personally withdrew $2.2 billion from the company’s accounts to purchase luxury real estate and finance his lifestyle.
Once recovered, $16 million from Binance Wallet will be used to compensate FTX victims. Nonetheless, this amount is a drop in the bucket for FTX users.
On the flip side
- Solana has a significant relationship with FTX as FTX was an early investor. Even during bankruptcy, FTX billions of dollars With SOL tokens.
- Binance recently $1.76 billion lawsuit By the FTX Bankruptcy Foundation. The estate claims that FTX’s buyback of its shares from Binance was done using user funds and should be invalidated.
Why This Matters
The recent FTX revelations have brought attention to the extent of corruption at the bankrupt FTX exchange. Additionally, any funds recovered will be used to reimburse victims.
Learn more about the latest on FTX stories.
FTX reopens old Binance wounds with new $1.8 billion lawsuit
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