U.S. trustees on Saturday disputed bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX's plan to sell its digital currency futures and clearinghouse LedgerX. There are also units in Japan and Europe, according to court documents.
FTX filed for bankruptcy protection in November and last month said it planned to sell its LedgerX, Embed, FTX Japan and FTX Europe businesses. FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to criminal charges that he defrauded investors and caused billions of dollars in losses in what prosecutors called an "epic" fraud Behavior.
The filing by U.S. trustee Andrew Vara calls for an independent investigation before the units are sold, arguing the firms may have information related to FTX's bankruptcy.
"The sale of potentially valuable causes of action against the Debtors' directors, officers and employees, or any other person or entity, should not be permitted until there has been a full and independent investigation into all persons and entities that may have been involved in any malfeasance, negligence or other actionable conduct," the filing said..
FTX said in a court filing last month that the companies it plans to sell are relatively independent of the broader FTX group, and each has its own separate client accounts and separate management teams.
More than 110 parties are interested in purchasing one or more of the 134 companies included in the bankruptcy proceedings. FTX has entered into 26 non-disclosure agreements with counterparties.
FTX founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to all criminal charges related to the cryptocurrency exchange’s collapse on Jan. 3, including wire fraud, securities fraud and campaign finance violations.
