By Tom Blitzer
Key Insights:
- Court Documents Unveil $2.5M Yacht Purchase for Former Alameda CEO Sam Trabucco.
- FTX Co-Founders Amass Robinhood Shares Worth Over $54M Before Exchange’s Downfall.
- Robinhood Buys Back $606M in Shares Previously Held by FTX and Alameda Research.
Recent court filings with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware disclose a series of payments made to senior executives at FTX in the year leading up to the cryptocurrency exchange’s collapse in November 2022. Moreover, the documents specify that these transactions benefited key insiders within the company.
One of the notable transactions is a $2.51 million payment from FTX to the American Yacht Group in March 2022. This payment benefited Sam Trabucco, the former co-CEO of Alameda Research. Trabucco announced his boat ownership and resignation in an August 2022 tweet.
FTX co-founders Sam Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang also made substantial investments in Robinhood. They acquired Robinhood shares worth $35.2 million in April 2022 and invested an additional $19.45 million in May 2022. Consequently, Robinhood recently bought back all shares previously held by FTX and Alameda Research for approximately $606 million.
Other Senior Figures Also Received Payments Before FTX’s Downfall
Apart from Bankman-Fried, Wang, and Trabucco, other executives received cash payments within the twelve months preceding the collapse of FTX. These include director of Engineering Nishad Singh, former chief marketing Officer Darren Wong, and former chief operating officer Constance Wang.
The records indicate that the disclosed data is only guaranteed to be partially accurate or exhaustive. As a result, the company denies any responsibility for errors or omissions. Furthermore, the financial reports only include transactions made in fiat currency and exclude those involving cryptocurrency or other digital assets.
Implications and Future Steps
The disclosed transactions have introduced new questions about the financial actions at FTX and Alameda Research before their setbacks. Robinhood’s chief financial officer, Jason Warnick, commented on the share buyback, stating, “We have completed the purchase of these shares and look forward to executing our growth plans.”
As the court proceedings progress, these transactions will likely undergo further examination by stakeholders and regulators. The scrutiny may focus on whether these transactions were excessive benefits for the executives or signs of broader financial issues at the company.
The recent disclosures add a layer of complexity to FTX’s ongoing bankruptcy proceedings. Whether the payments represent standard executive compensation or suggest deeper financial mismanagement is yet to be determined.