Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, borrowed over $546 million from the exchange’s sister firm Alameda Research to fund his purchase of Robinhood shares. Those same shares were later used by Bankman-Fried as collateral for a loan taken by Alameda from BlockFi, one of the entities that are laying claim to the shares. An affidavit by Bankman-Fried filed in the Antigua and Barbuda High Court on Dec. 12 — the day of his arrest — and made public on Dec. 27, revealed he and FTX co-founder Zixiao “Gary” Wang took out the loans from Alameda through four …

The crypto trader behind the $110 million exploit of decentralized exchange Mango Markets has been arrested in Puerto Rico — and charged with market manipulation and fraud. According to a previously sealed complaint filed with the Southern District of New York made public on Dec. 27, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) pinned Avraham Eisenberg with one count of “commodities fraud” and one count of “commodities manipulation” in relation to his exploit of Mango Markets. Eisenberg’s Oct. 11 exploit of Mango Markets worked by manipulating the value of the platform’s native token MNGO, artificially inflating its price relative to USD …

FTX founder Sam Bankman Fried (SBF) has been given some free advice on surviving federal prison from former white collar criminal Martin Shkreli, known also as “Pharma Bro.” Shkreli, who spent around four years behind bars for securities fraud between 2018 and 2022, told the currently-on-bail former FTX executive that he should consider shaving his head, deepening his voice and skill himself up on gang culture and rap music. The former prison inmate was speaking on a Dec. 23 episode of the crypto podcast Unchained, where he suggested that SBF needed to rebrand himself for jail, as being a rich …

The ongoing legal proceedings around former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) took a new turn as District Judge Ronnie Abrams withdrew her participation from the case. The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York rescued itself from the FTX case after revealing that a law firm — which employs Abrams’ husband as a partner — had advised the crypto exchange in 2021. In a Dec. 23 filing, Judge Abrams revealed that her husband, Greg Andres, is a partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell, a law firm where he has been employed since June 2019. Additionally, it …

One of the key witnesses on the ongoing FTX investigation could evade all the seven counts of allegations against her with a plea deal. Former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison would be prosecuted only for criminal tax violations and can be released immediately by paying the $250,000 bail. A plea deal between Ellison and the Office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York was published on Dec. 21. According to the document, the former Alameda exec will be spared of all the major charges, which could have cost her up to 110 years in jail. …

Sam Bankman-Fried, the jailed founder of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange has reportedly signed papers on Dec. 20 waiving his extradition hearing in the Bahamasand see him flown to the United States to face multiple criminal charges. A hearing in the Bahamas Supreme Court was set for Dec. 21 regarding the matter. Bankman-Fried reportedly wanted to see the indictment against him before he agreed to extradition to the U.S. and was expected to drop his extradition fight according to reports on Dec. 19. ABC News first reported the development on Dec. 20 citing the Bahamas acting commissioner of corrections Doan Cleare. …

Bankrupt crypto lending platform BlockFi has filed a motion requesting authority from the United States Bankruptcy Court to allow its users to withdraw digital assets currently locked up in BlockFi Wallets. In a motion filed on Dec .19 with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the District of New Jersey, the lender asked the court for authority to honor client withdrawals from wallet accounts as of the platform’s pause on Nov. 10. As part of our presentation in Court, we also expressed our intention to request approval from the Court to restore withdrawal activities for BlockFi Wallet accounts. — BlockFi (@BlockFi) …

Karl Sebastian Greenwood, the co-founder of the multi-billion dollar fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme OneCoin has pleaded guilty to multiple charges brought forward by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and faces a maximum of 60 years in prison. The DOJ announced on Dec. 16 that Greenwood submitted a guilty plea in a Manhattan federal court to charges of wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy with each charge carrying a maximum potential sentence of 20 years in jail. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said Greenwood operated “one of the largest international fraud schemes ever perpetrated” and claimed he touted …

On Dec. 15 lawyers representing FTX filed a motion with the United States Bankruptcy Court seeking permission to sell off the firm's Japanese and European branches, derivatives exchange LedgerX and stock-clearing platform Embed. The lawyers note that each of these businesses have been under pressure from regulators, which “merit[s] an expeditious sale process,” adding: “The longer operations are suspended, the greater the risk to the value of the assets and the risk of a permanent revocation of licenses.” FTX Japan is currently subject to a business suspension and improvement orders, while FTX Europe has had its licenses and operations suspended. …

Sam Bankman-Fried, the jailed founder of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX has reportedly filed a new application for bail in the Bahamas Supreme Court following his previous unsuccessful bail bid. Local media on Dec. 15 reported the founder submitted the application and that it would be heard before the court in just over one month's time on Jan. 17, 2023. However it did not cite any sources. Previously, on Dec. 13, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers had argued for him to be let out on bail set at $250,000 as he had no prior convictions and was suffering from depression and insomnia. The presiding …

Financial product comparison website Finder.com is being sued by Australia’s financial services regulator for allegedly offering a cryptocurrency yield-bearing product without the required license. It’s the second local provider of a crypto yield product to be targeted by the regulator, following action against Block Earner in November The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) began court proceedings on Dec.15 local time against Finder.com’s subsidiary and locally registered digital currency exchange Finder Wallet. ASIC alleged the Finder Earn product was an unlicensed financial product and that theFinder Wallet breached product disclosure requirements and failed to comply with obligations pertaining to distributing …

According to Bahamian court records filed on Dec. 14, Ryan Salame, the former co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets told the Securities Commission of the Bahamas (SCB) on Nov. 9 that FTX was sending customer funds to its sister trading firm Alameda Research. He also told the SCB only three people had the access required to transfer client assets to Alameda: Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX co-founder Zixiao “Gary” Wang and FTX engineer Nishad Singh. The allegation spurred SCB executive director Christina Rolle to contact the commissioner of the Royal Bahamas Police Force to request an investigation. Related: Realized losses …