The management of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX has launched a lawsuit against American financier Anthony Scaramucci and his hedge fund company SkyBridge Capital to recover funds invested by the exchange’s former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF). This legal action forms part of a larger effort by FTX Bankruptcy to recover funds that were misspent by previous management and settle its existing creditors.
FTX’s deals with Scaramucci show no benefit, lawyers claim
According to A Latest report By Bloomberg FTX 23 filed a lawsuit in Delaware Bankruptcy Court on Friday to recover funds directed to questionable investments by Bankman-Fried. The former FTX boss and US convict embarked on an “influence buying campaign” amid the cryptocurrency market downturn in 2022, disguising it in a series of flashy “investments”, lawyers for the exchange have claimed.
FTX is now moving to recover these funds from all clients of SBF’s exorbitant “investments” which allegedly include Singapore exchange Crypto.com and FWD.US, an immigration and justice advocacy group founded by billionaire Mark Zuckerberg.
The complaint also focuses on Bankman-Fried’s relationship with Anthony Scaramucci, the former White House communications director and Goldman Sachs executive, who is also the founder of the hedge fund SkyBridge Capital. Prosecutors allege that the former FTX CEO devoted significant time and financial resources to Scaramucci that brought no benefits to the defunct exchange but were instead aimed at strengthening Bankman Fried’s standing in politics and traditional finance.
Notably, SBF invested $67 million in Scaramucci’s SkyBridge in 2022 as a “bailout,” as the hedge fund firm has seen its assets under management decline by $7.3 billion since 2015. That same year, FTX eventually bought 30% of SkyBridge for an undisclosed sum months before the cryptocurrency exchange filed for bankruptcy. So far, Scaramucci and the other defendants have not issued any response to these latest lawsuits.
FTX is stepping up its efforts to recover funds ahead of the planned creditor payout
FTX, under the leadership of John J. Ray III, continues to make significant efforts in asset recovery as creditor settlements are expected to begin soon. Recently, Bitcoinist reported that the bankrupt exchange negotiated an agreement with Bybit to divest $228 million in assets from the UAE-based cryptocurrency trading platform.
The former cryptocurrency trading giant is expected to begin paying compensation to creditors ranging from $14.4 to $16.3 billion in the final months of 2024 with possible extensions until early 2025. Of this amount, only $1.6-$3.2 billion is likely to return to the cryptocurrency market, as the majority of creditor claims have been obtained by trusts or will not be accessible due to Know Your Customer (KYC) restrictions.
Featured image from Vanity Fair, chart from Tradingview