FTX collapse: Sam Bankman-Fried and fam ‘bought 19 properties in the Bahamas worth $121m’
12:50, 22 November 2022
The cryptocurrency derivatives exchange FTX that filed for bankruptcy on 11 November 2022 had “bought 19 properties in the Bahamas worth $121m (£101m)” under the company name for former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s parents and other top executives of the company.
These properties were bought over the past two years, Reuters reported.
FTX has its headquarters in the Bahamas, with Bankman-Fried said to be living there in a penthouse. He stepped down as CEO of FTX after it filed for bankruptcy.
Some of the Bahamas penthouse roommates included Bankman-Fried, FTX co-founder and chief technology officer (CTO) Gary Wang, and FTX director of engineering Nishad Singh.
The former CEO of FTX, its co-founder and the company’s director of engineering are “under supervision” by the local authorities in the Bahamas.
FTT to USD
Property worth $16.4m for former CEO’s parents
Bankman-Fried’s parents, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried were bought a property in the Bahamas worth $16.4m (£13.8m). The deed to the house allegedly has the property designated a “vacation home,” with documents dating back to 15 June of this year.
However, CoinTelegraph reported that the couple had been trying to return the property to FTX prior to its filing for bankruptcy.
Out of the 19 properties, seven were luxury condominiums. The residents of the condos are unknown, but the property deed claims they were used as “residence for key personnel” of FTX.
From Hong Kong to the Bahamas
In September 2021, FTX moved its headquarters from Hong Kong to the Bahamas. The official channel of the prime minister of the Bahamas released a YouTube video celebrating the groundbreaking ceremony for the $60m HQ campus in April 2022.
In the video, Bahamas’ Prime Minister Philip Edward Davis said that FTX “has left positive footprints throughout the Bahamas”. The PM added that the “prescence of FTX in the Bahamas speaks to our ongoing economic recovery after Hurricane Dorian and the impact of Covid-19 pandemic.”
The PM went onto thank Bankman-Fried and his team “for identifying a home in the Bahamas and consistently creating opportunities for Bahamians”.
The $60m construction of the FTX HQ campus never actually took place, as an employee from Mosko, a Bahamas-based construction company hired to manage the project. told Fortune: “Nothing was ever done”.
The relocation occurred as FTX stated the Bahamas had a more regulatory favourable environment. The aim was to build an FTX campus that would house 1,000 people.
Related topics
