Court Allows Voyager to Pay Employees $1.6 Million in Retention Bonuses

Crypto broker Voyager Digital may pay more than 30 employees a total of $1.6 million in retention bonuses, a bankruptcy court ruled. CoinDesk reports.

Judge Michael Wiles also agreed to seal the names and job titles of the employees who may receive the bonuses.

In August the firm filed the relevant motion, which creditors opposed. The United States Trustee, the bankruptcy watchdog within the Justice Department, also objected to sealing the recipients’ information.

Voyager’s attorney, Michael Slade of Kirkland & Ellis, told during the hearings that Voyager’s senior management does not participate in the program.

No creditor, shareholder or other interested party objected to the proposal to seal the data, he said.

According to him, the company has disclosed the information to all organizations that requested it.

Slade clarified that Voyager initially filed for retention bonuses for 38 employees totaling $1.9 million, but some of them had already left the company.

The attorney said the company plans to take cost-cutting measures that will yield annual savings of $4.6 million.

This program removed objections from Darren Azman, the Unsecured Creditors Committee’s counsel from McDermott Will & Emery. Azman described Voyager’s cost-cutting as one of the main issues.

During the hearing, the judge confirmed that the company’s motion to pay retention bonuses did not mention top executives.

In July, the crypto broker filed for bankruptcy. The company listed total obligations in a range from $1 billion to $10 billion.

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