FTX Prosecutors Seize $698M In Bankman-Fried Assets

Federal prosecutors have seized nearly $700 million in assets from disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.

According to a Friday (Jan. 20) court filing, a bulk of the seizures were in the form of 55.2 million shares in Robinhood, worth $526.2 million. This, as the crypto exchange is reportedly exploring a return to trading.

The filing said the government also seized nearly $56 million from three different bank accounts, including $5.3 million from the cryptocurrency-focused bank Silvergate and $49.9 million from Moonstone Bank.

Moonstone Bank was “one of the more surprising assets to come to light during FTX’s bankruptcy.” The crypto exchange held a smaller ownership stake in the tiny bank in rural Washington state.

Related: Bahamas Securities Commission Reports Seizing $3.5B In FTX Assets

Bankman-Fried, 30, is accused of multiple counts of fraud and conspiracy connected to the failure of FTX last year. Prosecutors say that the collapse began when he diverted customer assets to sister company Alameda Research, using those funds for investments, real estate purchases and political donations.

Bankman-Fried, who has maintained his innocence, had sought in court to block the government from seizing the Robinhood shares, with his attorneys arguing the shares are not part of the FTX bankruptcy.

They added that while FTX debtors haven’t shown they would be “irreparably injured” by denial of the claim to the shares, Bankman-Fried needs some of the assets to fund his defense.

“Mr. Bankman-Fried has not been found criminally or civilly liable for fraud, and it is improper for the FTX Debtors to ask the Court to simply assume that everything Mr. Bankman-Fried ever touched is presumptively fraudulent,” his lawyers said in a court filing earlier this month.

That filing came at the same time that two other entities issued requests for the Robinhood shares: crypto lender BlockFi, from which Bankman-Fried had taken loans and pledged the shares as collateral, and the liquidators for Emergent Fidelity Technology in Antigua.