FTX says Bahamas regulators hold $296 mln, not $3.5 bln of company’s assets

Dec 30 (Reuters) – FTX on Friday disputed claims by the Securities Fee of the Bahamas (SCB) that the regulator was holding $3.5 billion of the bankrupt cryptocurrency trade’s belongings.

When the Fee seized the digital belongings of FTX in November, they have been value simply $296 million, FTX stated in an announcement. FTX urged the fee to “clear up any confusion” concerning the belongings it holds and their worth.

The regulator started liquidation proceedings towards FTX Digital Markets Ltd., the corporate’s Bahamas-based unit, in November. FTX stated it can search the return of any belongings seized, as a result of FTX DM is simply a “native service firm” which doesn’t personal the FTX.com trade or any of the cryptocurrency seized.

SCB stated Thursday it had seized over $3.5 billion in cryptocurrency and was holding these funds for future reimbursement to FTX’s clients and different collectors.

SCB didn’t establish the kind of cryptocurrency seized or say the way it was valued.

FTX stated Friday that a lot of the seized cryptocurrency was within the type of FTX’s proprietary FTT tokens. The seized FTT tokens would have plunged in worth to $167 million as of Dec. 20, and the SCB could also be unable to discover a purchaser for such a big stake even at that lowered worth, FTX stated.

SCB didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark Friday.

FTX has been at odds with Bahamian officers ever since submitting for chapter safety on Nov. 11. The Bahamian officers have requested for entry to FTX’s information to help with the liquidation of FTX DM, however FTX’s U.S. chapter crew stated they don’t belief Bahamian officers with that data.

FTX’s founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested on fraud expenses and is anticipated to arraigned on Jan. 3, 2023, earlier than U.S. District Decide Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan federal court docket. FTX’s new chief government John Ray has stated that the trade misplaced $8 billion of buyer cash.

Reporting by Dietrich Knauth and Niket Nishant; Modifying by Shailesh Kuber and Daniel Wallis

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