FTX scandal: Absurd expenses – Sam Bankman-Fried has squandered millions

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• Luxury real estate, deliveries, parties in the Bahamas
• Millions for executives, commercials and political donations
• New motions to the FTX process

US Attorneys have accused FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried of “epic fraud”. As early as last fall, when Sam Bankman-Fried had to file for bankruptcy with what was then the world’s largest crypto exchange, there was speculation about the lavish lifestyle of the former crypto industry shooting star.

Insolvency administrator John J. Ray needed an army of lawyers to unravel the desolate financial accounting of FTX and its sister company Alameda. Already at the beginning of his work, Ray raised massive allegations in a letter to the bankruptcy court: The “concentration of power in the hands of a small group of inexperienced, inexperienced and compromised people” was unprecedented. Now, court filings viewed by Business Insider make it clear that not only did those responsible leave behind a messy accounting book riddled with flaws, but they must have used their position at the company to cultivate a more than luxurious lifestyle.

Pure luxury: Executive expenses

Luxury homes, yachts, hotel stays, parties and political donations are said to have been funded with a $65 billion line of credit from Alameda. This is evident from the court documents.

The largest items make up a total of 35 properties in the Bahamas with a total value of around 256 million US dollars. Sam Bankman-Fried is said to have lived there in a $30 million penthouse at a luxury resort until his arrest.

Millions are also said to have flowed for stays in luxury hotels. The hotel bills of the FTX employees apparently amount to 15.4 million US dollars – and that within a period of only nine months.

Alameda co-CEO John Samuel Trabucco, who resigned in August, also purchased a $2.5 billion yacht and about $10 million worth of real estate at company expense prior to his departure — the Alameda accounts transactions are confirmed. On Twitter he found ironic words about excited journalists and repeatedly posted paradisiacal photos of the view of the water.

The sum that flowed from company accounts to executives is gigantic: A total of 3.2 billion US dollars is said to have been distributed. Most of the sum went to Sam Bankman-Fried, but Nishad Singh, Ryan Salame, John Samuel Trabucco and Caroline Ellison also received astronomical sums.

Political donations and advertising deals

Of the sums of money Salame and Singh received, a few million are said to have been donated to politicians ahead of the midterm elections in 2022. According to the indictment, the politicians’ donations are said to have come from Sam Bankman-Fried, who is said to have instructed his colleagues not to be considered partisan. Sam Bankman-Fried’s millions in political contributions to the Democratic campaign are also the subject of the lawsuit.

An advertising deal with former US basketball star Shaquille O’Neal also appears in the court documents. The actor and rapper, who said he didn’t believe in crypto after FTX’s bankruptcy announcement, is said to have raked in $2.5 million for starring in an FTX commercial.

Everything at company expense: the most absurd items

However, one of the most absurd expenses of FTX employees is the cost of delivering Amazon packages to FTX headquarters via private plane, because the online mail order company does not deliver to the Bahamas. In the first nine months of 2022, Sam Bankman-Fried’s team spent around $3.9 million shipping Amazon orders from a Miami depot to the Bahamas to its headquarters – not including postage and delivery costs.

FTX and Alameda have also been generous to their employees at other delivery services: The Financial Times reports that employees are said to have received DoorDash meal credits worth $200 a day. Some of the bills from the food supplier were probably settled in 2022, but the bankruptcy court still has claims of around $46,000.

FTX trial: Lawyers call for charges to be dropped

The start of the FTX trial is set for early October, and the FTX founder faces up to 100 years in prison. The charges essentially relate to the allegations of fraud and money laundering, and Sam Bankman-Fried is said to have supported the Democratic campaign with stolen money.

Now, Sam Bankman-Fried’s attorneys have filed a motion calling for ten of the thirteen charges to be dropped out of court so that the trial will not even go ahead. A Twitter user posted the request on the social media platform.

FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and his lawyers have filed a motion to dismiss 10 of his 13 charges. These include:

conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to commit commodities fraud.

See images below pic.twitter.com/zCpdA74J7m

– Best Owie (@BestOwie) May 9, 2023

“Rather than waiting for traditional civil and regulatory processes to run their normal course, the government jumped in with both feet and tried to turn these civil and regulatory issues into federal crimes “, quotes BTC-ECHO from the documents.

Editorial office finanzen.net

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