FTX-linked Robinhood stake worth US$460m is seized by US

THE US government has seized — or is in the process of seizing — hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Robinhood Markets shares as part of the fraud case against Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the failed crypto firm FTX, lawyers said in court on Wednesday (Jan 4).

The government also is taking control of assets in bank accounts that were part of a bankruptcy case involving one unit of the FTX empire in the Bahamas, said James Bromley, a lawyer leading the main FTX insolvency proceeding in the US.

The seizures began as part of the fraud case against Bankman-Fried and other top FTX officials.

The shares, now worth more than US$460 million, have been claimed by various creditors of FTX, who filed court cases to try to control of them. A court hearing will eventually be held to determine what happens to the shares and the assets seized from the bank accounts, Seth B Shapiro, a lawyer with US Department of Justice said during a court hearing held by video in Wilmington, Delaware.

Bankman-Fried was extradited from the Bahamas last month to face fraud charges in the US. BLOOMBERG