Lawyers for FTX, a cryptoasset exchange company which collapsed with a bang in 2022, filed a complaint on Monday September 18 against the parents of its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried. Allan Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, who both taught law at Stanford University (one specialized in taxes, the other in ethics), are accused by the platform of having taken advantage of their influence over their son to enrich themselves.
“Bankman played a key role in perpetuating this culture of lies and mismanagement” specific to the company, helping to cover up “the fraud committed by the people at the heart of FTX,” we can read in the document. “And together, Bankman and Fried siphoned millions of dollars from FTX Group for their personal gain. » Among the elements listed, they are notably accused of having carried out a financial arrangement which allowed them to receive a “donation” of 10 million dollars (9.35 million euros) from their son. They also allegedly used $18.9 million (€17.67 million) in funds from FTX to purchase a luxury residence in the Bahamas.
SBF trial opens on October 3
The lawyers of Ms. Fried and Mr. Bankman, quoted by the Associated Press (AP), reacted by denouncing “an attempt at intimidation” against their clients, and this “a few days before the start of the their son’s trial.” This filing of complaint comes as the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, charged in particular with fraud and criminal conspiracy after the bankruptcy of his company last November, is due to begin on October 3 in a Manhattan court.
The one nicknamed SBF is accused of having misled its investors, of having diverted funds from FTX clients to make real estate acquisitions or of having used these same funds to make speculative investments through through another company, Alameda Research, which specializes in high-risk trading of cryptoassets. SBF has pleaded not guilty to all charges brought against him over the months: eight in January and five in March.
The former star of the world of cryptoassets was extradited at the end of December 2022 from the Bahamas, where FTX’s headquarters were located, and placed under house arrest at his parents’ home in California, after paying bail of 250 millions of dollars. But he was taken into custody on Aug. 11 by a judge after an attempted witness tampering.
