30s Summary

The US is seeking to seize cryptocurrency linked to bribes allegedly given to Chinese officials by Sam Bankman-Fried of FTX. The bribes were supposedly meant to unfreeze Alameda Research’s accounts that held $1 billion in digital coin. Initially worth around $8.6 million, the implicated Binance account value reached $18.5 million. Prosecutors believe Bankman-Fried used five other wallets tied to this account to hide his bribes, possibly around $150 million. A judge ordered the seizure of the account during Bankman-Fried’s trial in December 2023; he was found guilty and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

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The US wants to grab cryptocurrency believed to be involved in bribes given to Chinese officials by Sam Bankman-Fried, one of the big shots at FTX.

A lawsuit was launched in New York in November saying a Binance account, initially worth around $8.6 million, was used to launder the money before FTX went kaput in 2022. That account jumped to an impressive $18.5 million because crypto markets are booming.

Here’s the back story: in 2021, China’s cops froze two Alameda Research accounts on local crypto exchanges. These accounts held a whopping $1 billion in digital coin.

Just a few days later, Bankman-Fried is said to have slipped $40 million, specifically in Tether (a type of cryptocurrency) into a private wallet. Like magic, Alameda’s accounts started working again. The lawsuit suggests Bankman-Fried made other payments (costing millions more) to finish off the bribe.

The account the US is sniffing around was supposed set up in November 2023. Prosecutors say it had five other wallets tied to it, which were supposedly used to hide what they think was Bankman-Fried’s bribe.

Even the old CEO of Alameda Research, Caroline Ellison, gave testament that the final payoff was around a staggering $150 million.

Come December 2023, during Bankman-Fried’s trial, a judge ordered that the account be taken.

The account is said to still have a bunch of different cryptocurrencies, including Solana, Cardano, XRP, Internet Computer, and Avalanche.

After FTX fell apart in 2022, Bankman-Fried ended up facing the music in court and was found guilty of seven serious charges. In late March, he was sentenced to spend 25 years in the slammer.

He was originally in trouble for six other crimes, like bank fraud and a plot to bribe foreign officials. Those were eventually dropped though.

In September, Bankman-Fried’s legal team argued back, saying that the FTX guru didn’t get a fair trial.