Ex-Alameda Co-CEO Sam Trabucco Agrees to Give Up Yacht, Real Estate in FTX Creditor Settlement

Sam Trabucco, the former and somewhat elusive co-CEO at Alameda Research, has struck a deal with FTX to settle his debts with the collapsed crypto exchange.

According to a filing published Monday, Trabucco will hand over multiple assets to FTX creditors. He agreed to transfer legal ownership of two San Francisco apartments and a 53-foot HCB Suenos yacht.

He bought the apartments in June 2021 for $8.7m and the yacht in March 2022 for $2.51m. An earlier filing revealed that he used company funds from FTX to buy the yacht.

Further, the filing states that he also agreed to transfer all rights to claims filed against FTX. These claims, valued at about $70m, will be expunged.

Federal Judge to Review Trabucco-FTX Deal on Dec. 12

The agreement between Trabucco and the FTX estate is pending final approval and requires endorsement from a federal judge in Delaware during a hearing scheduled for Dec. 12. If approved, this settlement would allow Trabucco to avoid any potential legal actions from FTX’s debtors.

The proposed settlement is likely to bring more value to the Debtors’ estates than what might be recovered through a lawsuit against Trabucco, especially after considering the risks, the filing said. This agreement lets the Debtors secure a strong recovery for their stakeholders without the expenses, uncertainty, and time required for legal action.

Sam Trabucco’s Timely Exit Before FTX Implosion

Trabucco gained recognition at Alameda for his bold trading strategies, shifting from neutral market plays to high-risk bets, especially by capitalizing on Dogecoin’s price jumps fueled by Elon Musk’s tweets. He stepped down as co-CEO in Aug. 2022, just before FTX and Alameda Research collapsed, leaving Caroline Ellison in charge.

While Trabucco was involved at Alameda during its controversial financial moves, he hasn’t faced criminal charges for the FTX collapse. However, his name did come up in court proceedings tied to a bribery scandal with Chinese officials. Still, he was not indicted.

Throughout the turmoil surrounding FTX, Trabucco remained largely silent, contributing only two tweets to the conversation during the entire ordeal.

In October, the court granted FTX permission to fully reimburse customers for their frozen digital assets. Meanwhile, FTX has aggressively pursued more than 20 lawsuits in Delaware’s bankruptcy court to maximize asset recovery for its creditors.

Most recently, FTX filed a lawsuit against Binance this week, aiming to reclaim nearly $1.8b that Sam Bankman-Fried allegedly transferred fraudulently.