Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has pled not guilty to all criminal charges he’s facing, including wire fraud, securities fraud and violations of campaign finance laws. In total, the entrepreneur faces eight criminal counts, which could result in 115 years in prison should he be convicted. Meanwhile, Daniel Friedberg, the controversial lawyer who served as top compliance chief at FTX, has reportedly cooperated with prosecutors and provided them with his knowledge of SBF’s use of customer funds to finance his illegal business scheme. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York has formed the FTX Task …

FTX’s Bahamian company spent a staggering amount of money on luxury hotels and accommodation, flights, and food just nine months before the exchange’s collapse, court filings revealed. In bankruptcy court documents reviewed by Business Insider, FTX Digital Markets went through $40 million between January to September 2022, just two months before the company filed for bankruptcy citing liquidity issues. More than $15 million went on luxury hotels and accommodation, with $5.8 million of that at one resort — the Albany Hotel. This luxury resort is where Sam Bankman-Fried lived in his $30 million penthouse until his arrest, the report added. …

Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX's plans to sell its digital currency futures and clearinghouse LedgerX, among other businesses, were challenged by the U.S. Trustee on Jan. 7, according to Reuters. As per the filing, U.S. Trustee Andrew Vara called for an independent investigation before any sale, claiming that valuable information related to the exchange's bankruptcy could be compromised. The document states: "The sale of potentially valuable causes of action against the Debtors' directors, officers and employees, or any other person or entity, should not be permitted until there has been a full and independent investigation into all persons and entities that …

FTX's new management is seeking to recover millions of dollars in donations made by the crypto exchange and its former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, reports the Wall Street Journal. At the end of September, FTX's charity arm, Future Fund, had committed more than $160 million to more than 110 nonprofit organizations, including biotech startups and university researchers developing Covid-19 vaccines and working on pandemic studies, as well as nonprofit organizations in India, China and Brazil. As per the report, Future Fund committed $3.6 million to AVECRIS, a company working on a genetic vaccine platform, and another $5 million were donated to …

After Sam Bankman-Fried was handed over to United States officials last month, his top lieutenants — Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang — had already been cooperating with the feds. The two pleaded guilty to a slew of charges and agreed to assist the Southern District of New York to investigate FTX and their former boss. SBF had his day in court on Jan. 3 and pled not guilty to all criminal charges. As the saga surrounding SBF and FTX intensified, crypto capital market company Digital Currency Group was facing problems of its own. Its CEO, Barry Silbert, has been accused …

The legal team for former FTX chief executive officer Sam Bankman-Fried has filed a motion in an effort to stop the exchange’s debtors from controlling more than $450 million worth of shares of Robinhood. In a Jan. 5 court filing regarding FTX’s bankruptcy case, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers said FTX debtors had “failed to carry their heavy burden” establishing that they had a legal claim to more than 56 million Robinhood shares. The legal team confirmed reports that the United States Departure of Justice was in the process of seizing the shares, but said SBF was “compelled to reply” given the stakes …

Daniel Friedberg, controversial lawyer who served as top compliance chief at now-defunkt exchange FTX, has reportedly cooperated with United States’ prosecutors investigating FTX collapse. Friedberg provided details about FTX in a meeting with two dozen investigators hold by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York's (SDNY) office on Nov. 22, Reuters reported. The meeting included officials from the Justice Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the report notes, citing a source familiar with the matter. At the meeting, Friedberg provided prosecutors with his knowledge of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried's use of …

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) has formed an FTX Task Force to “trace and recover” missing customer funds, as well as handle investigations and prosecutions related to the exchange’s collapse. The announcement came via a statement from U.S. Attorney Damian Williams who is the federal prosecutor in the FTX case involving founder Sam Bankman-Fried. Charges from the Manhattan attorney’s office against Bankman-Fried include wire and securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, money laundering and violation of campaign finance laws. “The Southern District of New York is working around the …

The Bahamas will have legal representation in the unfolding FTX case. The Caribbean nation chose Brown Rudnick as counsel “in certain matters of engagement related to the collapse of FTX Digital Markets Ltd.,” alongside Bahamian lawyers and other experts, according to a statement released by the law firm. FTX Digital Markets is headquartered in the Bahamas, and the top management of the company lived in that country. Cases against the members of the management team are now being heard in the United States after former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s extradition from the Bahamas. Brown Rudnick has been working for the Bahamas …

Former FTX chief executive officer Sam Bankman-Fried has pled not guilty to all charges he’s facing including wire fraud, securities fraud, and violations of campaign finance laws. Multiple observers in the United States District Court in the Southern District of New York on Jan. 3 reported that Bankman-Fried’s attorneys had entered a not guilty plea on SBF’s behalf in his first court appearance since December. Bankman-Fried faces eight criminal counts which could result in 115 years in jail should he be convicted. Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon, one of the prosecutors in the case against the former FTX executive, reportedly …

2022 saw the fall of many linchpin crypto and blockchain firms as the May market drawdown shook the industry. It caused many cryptocurrencies to lose value and many investors to pull their money from the market. Furthermore, the unprecedented knock-on effects of the meltdown exposed many blockchain and cryptocurrency firms that were ill-prepared for turbulent times. However, a collective of companies was able to resist negative market forces and grow amidst the turbulence. The crypto market as a whole continues to grow and has now reached 320 million users. As we look back on a year full of surprises, we …

The legal team behind former FTX chief executive officer Sam Bankman-Fried has petitioned a court to redact certain information on individuals acting as sureties for his $250-million bond, citing threats made against his family. In a letter dated Jan. 3 filed to Judge Lewis Kaplan for the United States District Court in the Southern District of New York, Bankman-Fried’s legal team requested the court order “names and other identifying information” of two bail sureties not be disclosed to the public and redacted from bonds once they were signed on Jan. 5. Mark Cohen of the law firm Cohen & Gresser …