Emily Walker
The management team of the collapsed cryptocurrency platform FTX has initiated legal proceedings against financier Anthony Scaramucci and his investment firm SkyBridge Capital. This lawsuit aims to reclaim investments made by FTX’s former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF). It is part of broader efforts by the FTX bankruptcy estate to retrieve misallocated funds from prior management and address outstanding obligations to creditors.
FTX’s Claims Over Scaramucci Investments Yield No Returns, Lawyers Argue
A Bloomberg report indicates that FTX has lodged 23 lawsuits in Delaware’s bankruptcy court, seeking to recover funds misappropriated by Bankman-Fried. The attorneys for FTX assert that the former CEO engaged in a strategy to “buy influence” during the cryptocurrency downturn of 2022, masking it with extravagant “investments.”
FTX is currently focused on recovering funds linked to SBF’s lavish “investments,” which reportedly involved players like the Singaporean exchange Crypto.com and FWD.US, a nonprofit founded by billionaire Mark Zuckerberg.
The lawsuit specifically highlights the ties between Bankman-Fried and Scaramucci, noted for his previous roles in the White House and Goldman Sachs, and as the SkyBridge Capital founder. The plaintiffs contend that considerable time and money were funneled into Scaramucci’s operations, ultimately yielding no advantage for FTX, but rather serving to enhance Bankman-Fried’s political clout.
In 2022, SBF made a $67 million “bailout” investment in SkyBridge as the hedge fund’s assets had fallen by $7.3 billion since 2015. Shortly before FTX’s bankruptcy, the exchange purchased a 30% stake in SkyBridge for an undisclosed sum. So far, Scaramucci and the other defendants have not publicly responded to the ongoing lawsuits.
FTX Ramps Up Efforts to Recover Funds Before Creditor Payments Begin
Under the guidance of John J. Ray III, FTX is intensifying its asset recovery initiatives in anticipation of creditor settlements being finalized soon. Recent reports from Bitrabo highlight that FTX has reached an agreement with Bybit to reclaim $228 million worth of assets from this UAE-based trading platform.
The defunct exchange plans to commence creditor payouts ranging between $14.4 billion to $16.3 billion in late 2024, potentially extending into early 2025. However, only $1.6 to $3.2 billion of this is expected to re-enter the cryptocurrency market, as the majority of creditor claims have been acquired by credit funds or are hindered by know-your-customer (KYC) regulations.