FTX executives extracted billions ahead of collapse

SAM BANKMAN-FRIED and the board of FTX extracted $3.2bn (£2.6bn) from the cryptocurrency exchange before it collapsed, its liquidators have alleged.

Of the multibillion sum a full $2.2bn was allegedly withdrawn from the exchange to Mr Bankman-fried’s personal bank account. The remainder was withdrawn to the accounts of five members of his inner circle in the form of “payments and loans”, primarily from Alameda Research, a crypto trading hedge fund linked to FTX.

In a statement, FTX’S current management said: “These amounts exclude over $240m spent to purchase luxury property in the Bahamas, political and charitable donations made directly by the FTX debtors and substantial transfers to non-debtor subsidiaries in the Bahamas and other jurisdictions.”

The filings, made to a Delaware bankruptcy court yesterday, shed fresh light on how a business, once regarded as the respectable face of cryptocurrencies that boasted more than 1m retail customers, was run behind the scenes.

Along with the former FTX boss a further five executives were accused of withdrawing funds, including Caroline Ellison, Mr Bankman-fried’s on-off girlfriend, who was also Alameda’s CEO.

Around half a billion dollars was also said to have been withdrawn from FTX by engineering director Nishad Singh, along with a further $250m taken out by the exchange’s co-founder Gary Wang.

Ms Ellison, Mr Singh and Mr Wang have pleaded guilty to criminal charges in the United States and are co-operating with prosecutors, who are still pursuing Mr Bankman-fried.

FTX’S co-founder stands accused of

fraud, conspiracy and breaking US political donation laws after channelling up to $100m of the exchange’s funds to Democratic party politicians.

He is said to have ordered an associate to secretly channel a similar amount to the Republican party, allegedly decrying the Left’s “woke s---” .

Mr Bankman-fried reportedly faces up to 110 years in prison if convicted on all charges relating the spectacular implosion of one of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges last November. It left 80,000 Britons out of pocket, amounting to 8pc of FTX’S users.