FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange that had previously gone bankrupt, has announced that it has located a significant amount of assets, according to an attorney representing the company. However, the extent of losses for customers is still not yet known. The former CEO of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, is facing accusations of fraud, which may have cost investors, customers, and lenders billions of dollars. Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him.
The attorney also specified that the recovered assets do not include those that have been seized by a regulatory body in another country, where FTX was based and where Bankman-Fried was living at the time of his arrest. The court filings did not name most of the customers and investors who are facing losses as a result of the collapse, but did mention a few high-profile individuals.
In December, Bankman-Fried was arrested in a foreign country and extradited to the United States to face charges of committing “one of the biggest financial frauds in US history.” FTX, which was valued at $32 billion a year ago, filed for bankruptcy protection in November and it has been estimated that $8 billion of customer’s funds were missing.
Federal prosecutors have accused Bankman-Fried of misusing customer’s funds to pay off debts at another cryptocurrency trading firm he owned and to make other investments. In December, prosecutors announced eight criminal charges, including wire fraud, money laundering, and campaign finance violations. Financial regulators have also brought claims against Bankman-Fried.
Two other individuals, a co-founder and the former head of the trading firm mentioned, have also been charged for their alleged involvement in the collapse of FTX. Both are cooperating with the investigation. Bankman-Fried was released on $250 million bail on the condition that he does not leave his parents’ home in California. In an interview before his arrest, he stated that he did not believe he had committed fraud and that the collapse of FTX was not something he had intended.
