FTX Transferred $7.7B From Bahamian Estate to US Units Ahead of Bankruptcy Filing, Court Told

FTX sent $7.7 billion in assets from the crypto company's Bahamian estate to its U.S. counterparts in the period leading up to its bankruptcy filing last year, a Delaware bankruptcy court was told during a Wednesday hearing.

Court-appointed joint provisional liquidators in the Bahamas said that $5.6 billion was transferred from Bahamas unit FTX Digital's custodial accounts to U.S. entity FTX trading, while another $2.1 billion was transferred to FTX's U.S. trading arm, Alameda Research.

"And then we have other tangible assets of about $3 million, mostly relating to office furniture, equipment and the fleet of cars that the employees had in the Bahamas," Christopher Shore, a lawyer for the liquidator, said during the hearing.

FTX's new management reached a cooperation agreement in early January with court-appointed liquidators in the Bahamas to iron out disagreements and address the assets in dispute.

"The cooperation agreement is a starting point. But the issues as to whether assets belong in the Bahamian estate or in the U.S. estate are open issues. And so the statements that Mr. Shore has made in that regard are statements that the U.S. debtors reserved all their rights on, and frankly, disagree with many," a representative for FTX said.

At the same hearing, presiding Judge John Dorsey denied a motion to appoint an independent examiner to look into FTX's financials – something that representatives for FTX previously said could cost the estate around $100 million.

Read more: FTX's US Leadership, Bahamas Liquidators Say They've 'Resolved' Most of Their Issues