The US Department of Justice announced the forfeiture of 55 million shares of Robinhood

The US Department of Justice has officially notified BlockFi’s bankruptcy court of the asset seizure as part of the criminal cases against cryptocurrency exchange FTX and its executives.

In a court filing dated January 6, The DOJ said it seized 55,273,469 shares of Robinhood that former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, BlockFi and FTX creditor Yonathan Ben Shimon had previously claimed. – The value of the shares amounted to more than 450 million dollars at the time of publishing this article. The DOJ indicated that it also seized more than $20 million in US currency from brokerage firm ED&F Man Capital Markets.

Reports on January 4 suggested this Ministry of Justice was in the process of being seized Robinhood’s actions as part of the case against FTX. Bankman-Fried’s legal team confirmed Jan. 5 that the DOJ has made progress in seizing the shares, but it’s still Arguing that the former CEO of FTX He was entitled to claim the assets “to pay for his criminal defense.”

“The indictment stems from an alleged far-reaching scheme by the defendant to embezzle billions of dollars in customer funds held at FTX, the international cryptocurrency exchange founded by Bankman-Fried,” the lawsuit states. “The indictment includes allegations of forfeiture, and seeking to forfeit, property constituting or arising from proceeds traceable to a conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and property involved in conspiracy to commit money laundering.”

After his arrest in the Bahamas and extradition to the United States in December, Bankman Fried said He pleaded not guilty to eight criminal chargesIncluding wire fraud and violations of campaign finance laws. theFormer CEO of Alameda Research Caroline Ellison and co-founder of FTX Gary Wang has already pleaded guilty to related charges.. SBF’s criminal trial is scheduled to begin in October.

FTX’s bankruptcy proceedings, which are separate from criminal cases, are also ongoing, with the next public hearing scheduled for January 11th.. Parties representing debtors FTX also has Tagged assets related to cryptocurrency exchange and their former executives, as many clients seek to recover lost and missing funds.

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