Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is trying to regain access to his Robinhood stock, worth over $460 million. The former CEO of the collapsed crypto exchange claimed he needed them to “pay for his criminal defense”, stressing that without them the consequences would be severe and “irreparable”. FTX customers, on the other hand, “face only the possibility of economic loss,” SBF’s court filing states.
Robinhood stock disputes
FTX co-founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is trying to regain control of his Robinhood shares which are currently being contested by multiple parties including SBF himself, FTX’s new management and the lender of bankrupt crypto Blockfi.
Bankman-Fried asked the bankruptcy court to dismiss the motion to enforce the automatic stay (stay motion) filed by new FTX management on 56,273,269 shares of Robinhood Markets Inc. (Nasdaq: HOOD), d worth more than $460 million, according to a court filing Thursday.
The court document details that the former FTX chief “is asking that the stay motion be dismissed” because FTX’s new management “has failed to meet its heavy burden of establishing that such an extraordinary remedy is warranted. “. In addition, the motion for a stay should be “moot” since the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) obtained a warrant for grab Robinhood sharesthe court filing adds, noting that FTX’s new management did not withdraw the stay motion, prompting Bankman-Fried to file an objection.
The court filing further explains that SBF “needs a portion of these funds to pay for its criminal defense”, claiming that a “financial inability to defend itself has serious consequences and is irreparable”. The file continues:
Conversely, FTX debtors only face the possibility of economic loss.
Bankman-Fried argued that the Robinhood shares in dispute do not belong to Alameda Research or any other entity involved in the FTX bankruptcy. Instead, they are owned by Emergent Fidelity Technology Ltd., a 90% owned company. According to the court filing, Bankman-Fried and fellow FTX executive Gary Wang borrowed funds from Alameda for Emergent to buy Robinhood’s stock.
Crypto community outraged by SBF statements
Many on social media are outraged by Bankman-Fried’s claim that it faces greater harm than FTX customers who only suffer “the possibility of economic loss.”
One person tweeted: “SBF gives new meaning to chutzpah. Arguing in court that the balance of stock weighs in his favor for him to sell HOOD to pay his own legal fees, because jail time is an invaluable evil and FTX’s creditors will only suffer economic loss. Another one open:
This is one of the most disgusting lines I have ever read. Attaching your name to a claim that debtor economic loss is not a matter of life and death for some people is heartless and disconnected. What happened to “Nothing Matters More Than Making Customers Whole”?
What do you think of Sam Bankman-Fried saying he needs Robinhood stocks more than FTX clients who only face “the possibility of economic loss”? Let us know in the comments section below.
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