FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried $2.2 Billion Personal Account Transfer

In a stunning development, former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and five individuals in his inner circle have been accused of transferring more than $3.2 billion from hedge fund Alameda Research and other parts of his crypto empire to their personal accounts. According to new filings made by FTX’s new management to bankruptcy court on Wednesday, Bankman-Fried and his associates labeled the transfers as “payments and loans.”

Most of the funds were reportedly taken from Alameda, which is FTX’s sister trading arm, and were moved before the crypto exchange’s collapse in November. Bankman-Fried received the lion’s share of the funds, taking a staggering $2.2 billion. Meanwhile, ex-engineer Nishad Singh, FTX co-founder Gary Wang, and former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison received $587 million, $246 million, and $6 million, respectively. Ryan Salame, the former Co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, and Sam Trabucco, former co-head of Alameda, accounted for $87 million and $25 million, respectively.

However, the filings did not include more than $240 million that was reportedly spent on luxury property in the Bahamas, as well as political and charitable donations made directly by FTX’s debtors. Additionally, there were significant transfers to non-debtor subsidiaries in the Bahamas and other jurisdictions.

Bankman-Fried, who is currently under house arrest at his parents’ home in California, is facing eight criminal charges, including money laundering and wire fraud, related to the downfall of his once-$30 billion crypto empire. If convicted, the 31-year-old could face life in prison. US prosecutors allege that Bankman-Fried funneled money to Alameda, a crypto hedge fund he also controlled, and that modified software code was used to allow Alameda to carry a negative balance while still borrowing unlimited funds from the FTX exchange. These latest revelations only add to the drama surrounding Bankman-Fried and the collapse of his crypto empire.