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Court Filing Shows FTX Creditors Include U.S. Treasury, Financial Watchdogs And Other Corporations

A court filing has shown that financial watchdogs, government agencies and corporations from across the globe are among creditors of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX.

FTXPhoto Credit: Shutterstock

FTX, one of the world’s top cryptocurrency exchanges less than a year ago, filed for bankruptcy in November, rocking the foundation of the industry and leaving almost 1 million customers and other shareholders facing total losses in the billions of dollars.

In a U.S. court filing on Wednesday, FTX detailed its list of creditors, showing both the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are among the group owed money. It did not specify details on the nature or amount owed.

International entities like Swiss markets watchdog FINMA and Japan’s FSA regulator were also listed in the 116-page document. A FINMA spokesperson said the watchdog was not a client of FTX and never acted on its platforms, claiming it could not explain why it appeard on the creditor list.

Companies from various industries were also cited as creditors, including short-term rental business Airbnb and Binance, FTX’s main competitor and the world’s largest crypto exchange.

During its bankruptcy filing, FTX claimed it owed its 50 largest creditors more than $3 billion.

In a Delaware bankruptcy hearing earlier this month, attorneys claimed the company had located an additional $5 billion in cash and liquid crypto assets since November’s Chapter 11 filing. As part of that hearing, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey also approved procedures to market some assets belonging to FTX and agreed to allow the exchange to keep the names of 9 million of its individual customers secret for three months.

Judge Dorsey made this decision after outlining how said customer information is a valuable asset of the debtor that comprises sensitive trade secrets in the case.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has been accused of orchestrating a plot to defraud FTX’s customers by misappropriating their deposits to pay for personal expenses and debts as well as to make investments on behalf of his crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research. He has pleaded not guilty to fraud charges and is due to face trial in October.

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Source: https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/us-treasury-financial-watchdogs-companies-among-ftx-creditors-filing-shows-2023-01-26/

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