U.S. Court Seizes $606M Robinhood Shares, Crypto from Sam Bankman-Fried

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has issued a final forfeiture order, stripping former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried of a vast array of assets following his fraud conviction. The ruling covers significant cryptocurrency holdings and financial assets once controlled by Bankman-Fried’s companies, including Alameda Research and Emergent Fidelity Technologies.

Among the seized assets, the most valuable was $606 million worth of Robinhood (NASDAQ: HOOD) shares owned by Emergent Fidelity Technologies. Additionally, the court confiscated major crypto holdings linked to Alameda Research, including $56 million in Ripple (XRP), $3.6 million in Tron (TRX), $3.4 million in Cardano (ADA), and $2.3 million in Bitcoin (BTC). Authorities also seized $119 million in Tether (USDT) held at Binance, along with substantial funds from Marex, Moonstone Bank, Silvergate, and Flagstar Bank.

The forfeiture extended to two private jets: a 2009 Bombardier Global 5000 and a 2006 Embraer Legacy. Additionally, more than 250 political donations made by Bankman-Fried and other FTX executives were rescinded. These contributions had reached one in three U.S. congressional members during the last session.

Meanwhile, FTX’s bankruptcy proceedings have begun distributing funds to creditors. The first payouts, totaling $1.2 billion, have been issued, reimbursing smaller creditors at approximately 119% of their original account balances before FTX’s collapse in 2022. However, these creditors will not benefit from the recent crypto market rebound.

This high-profile case highlights the fallout from FTX’s failure, underscoring regulatory scrutiny and legal repercussions for the cryptocurrency industry.