In the lawsuit, FTX claims that SBF believed that charity donations "would generate goodwill and amass political capital and influence for <him>."
In an attempt to recover misused customer funds, the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX and Alameda Research recently initiated yet another legal battle.
The suit, filed on July 19th, aims to retrieve $71.6 million taken from corporate and customer accounts to invest in life science organizations.
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In this litigation, FTX targets six life science firms, the FTX Foundation charity organization, and the allegedly fraudulent nonprofit Latona Biosciences Group. Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX Foundation director Nicholas Beckstead, and Ross Rheingans-Yoo, head of Latona, have also been named defendants.
According to the lawsuit, it is believed that FTX Foundation and Latona have invested a significant amount of funds in six life science firms for the personal gain of Bankman-Fried and Rheingans-Yoo. These suspicious transactions, eight in total, were made between February and October 2022 by Alameda Research on behalf of Latona, with no benefit to Alameda Research or FTX.
Furthering their claim, FTX asserts that these investments were made without proper due diligence or independent valuation. According to the lawsuit:
Each of these transfers was made with the intent to hinder, delay, or defraud present or future creditors, a fact known by the FTX Foundation, Latona, and Bankman-Fried.
The suit further alleges that Sam Bankman-Fried expected that donations "would generate goodwill and amass political capital and influence for <him>."
Since the management change, FTX has been assertive in its quest to recover misappropriated customer funds. The process of retrieving charitable donations poses a unique challenge, as these funds have been allocated to a diverse range of recipients, including universities, researchers, students, and more unconventional beneficiaries.
The unfolding legal saga surrounding FTX serves as a reminder of the complexities and challenges inherent in managing funds within the rapidly evolving cryptocurrency industry.
Following this lawsuit, FTX filed another suit against Sam Bankman-Fried and other executives aiming to recover $1 billion in misappropriated funds.
