More than $455M in stock belonging to FTX co-founders seized by the feds. Robinhood stock which is owned by both Gary Wang and Sam Bankman-Fried was with a holding company in the United Kingdom according to reports.
More than $455M in Stock Belonging to FTX Co-Founders Seized By the Feds
The US department of justice just recently seized over 55 million Robinhood shares that is owned by the co-founders of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fred, and Gary Wang which is valued at over $455 million as per court documents that were filed on Friday. The value which is pegged at the share price on Friday is $8.25. and the stock was reportedly with a holding company based in the UK.
Bankman-Fried at the moment is still fighting to keep his shares. The ex-CEO according to CoinDesk in a separate report said that the funds are needed to pay his legal defense and also that both he and Wang bought them legitimately from FTX hedge company Alameda Research.
Bankman-Fried Faces Pressure and Increased Legal Problems
News of the seizure by the DOJ comes as Bankman-Fried faces pressure and increasing legal problems following the fall of FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange firm. The reported loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in FTX customer funds has tampered with the whole confidence of the cryptocurrency market. Bankman-Fried earlier this month pleaded not guilty to fraud charges.
The now-bankrupt FTX is at the moment being run by John Ray III who is overseeing the complicated process of bankruptcy. And just last month, he asked a judge to freeze the stock of FTX, a move that was reportedly opposed by Bankman-Fried.
The fall of Cryptocurrency Exchange FTX
FTX before its collapse last year was one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. Bankman-Fried and other top employees misused funds belonging to customers in certain investments that started to fold up as the crypto market saw a major downslide in 2022 allegedly.
