The total payouts in the form of payments and loans to the so-called inner circle of former FTX chief executive Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) amounted to $3.2 billion. This is stated in the press release of the company.
Most of this sum came from a related party to the bankrupt Alameda Research. Its former head Caroline Ellison received only $6 million, while SBF — $2.2 billion, according to court documents.
$587 million went to FTX’s Chief Technology Officer Nishad Singh, $246 million to the platform’s co-founder Gary Wang. Former co-head of FTX Digital Markets Ryan Salame received $87 million, and former co-chief of Alameda Research Sam Trabucco received $25 million.
The $3.2 billion does not include more than $240 million spent on purchases of elite Bahamas real estate, political donations and transfers to subsidiary companies.
In November 2022, the new CEO of the exchange John Ray said that there was absolutely no control over cash movements and reliable financial information within the company.
During congressional hearings, the executive accused Bankman-Fried and his team of storing private keys without encryption. In their actions, he saw ‘old-fashioned waste’, rather than sophisticated, meticulously planned crimes.
In December, the US Department of Justice filed charges against SBF in eight criminal counts. He was arrested in the Bahamas and extradited to the United States, where he was released on bail of $250 million.
In February 2023 prosecutors increased the number of charges against SBF to twelve.
Ellison and Wang previously pleaded guilty to claims related to the FTX collapse. Singh subsequently followed suit.
Trabucco avoided charges, having stepped down three months before the platform ceased operations.
Salame warned the Bahamian regulator about potential cryptocurrency exchange fraud two days before the bankruptcy filing. He faced no charges.
In March 2023, John Ray said there was ‘substantial deficit’ of capital at the platform.
According to the exchange’s court filing, the asset shortfall totals $8.7 billion, of which $1.6 billion is Bitcoin.