FTX exchange filed for bankruptcy in November 2022. As part of the bankruptcy proceedings, FTX’s lawyers have asked Judge John Dorsey for permission to subpoena family members of Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX, and several former executives to testify under oath regarding any financial benefits they may have accrued from the exchange’s business. The lawyers are searching for any assets that can be used to repay the exchange’s creditors.
According to Bloomberg, Sam Bankman-Fried’s father, Joseph Bankman, who is a law professor, offered tax advice to FTX employees.
Sam’s brother, Gabriel, was involved in political lobbying from a property in Washington D.C. Additionally, Bankman-Fried’s wife, Barbara Fried, allegedly received funds from FTX for a political action committee called Mind the Gap and spent a significant amount supporting mostly Democratic candidates in 2022.
The lawyers have recently discovered about $5 billion to compensate users, but they are continuing to aggressively search for more assets.
The new CEO of FTX, John J. Ray III, stated that a new task force is investigating the feasibility of reopening the exchange’s doors to obtain the necessary liquidity to reimburse customers.
The brothers’ involvement in FTX expressed their commitment to a philosophy called effective altruism.
They used FTX’s cash to make diverse investments, including donating $12 million to a California ballot initiative aimed at detecting emerging viruses and funding the political campaign of a biosecurity expert from Oregon.
Their political action committee, Protect Our Future, spent $28 million on Democratic candidates in 2022, and the non-profit organization Guarding Against Pandemics used $1 million to fund lobbying efforts for a new pandemic plan on Capitol Hill.
After the collapse of FTX, Gabriel Bankman-Fried resigned from his position at Guarding Against Pandemics. An adviser to the brothers said that Gabriel had a genuine interest in pandemics, but he was unsure about Sam’s interest in the matter.
