US Feds put together ‘FTX task force’ to trace stolen user funds

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) has formed an FTX Task Force to “trace and recover” missing lawsuit funds, arsenic good arsenic grip investigations and prosecutions related to the exchange’s collapse. 

The announcement came via a connection from U.S. Attorney Damian Williams who is the national authoritative successful the FTX case involving laminitis Sam Bankman-Fried.

Charges from the Manhattan attorney’s bureau against Bankman-Fried see ligament and securities fraud, conspiracy to perpetrate ligament and securities fraud, wealth laundering and usurpation of run concern laws.

“The Southern District of New York is moving astir the timepiece to respond to the implosion of FTX,” said Williams successful a statement, adding:

“We are launching the SDNY FTX Task Force to guarantee that this urgent enactment continues, powered by each of SDNY’s resources and expertise until justness is done.”

According to the SDNY, the task force’s squad consists of elder prosecutors from its securities and commodities fraud, nationalist corruption, wealth laundering and transnational transgression endeavor units — which volition beryllium liable for the “investigation and prosecution of matters related to the FTX collapse.”

Meanwhile, its “asset forfeiture and cyber capabilities” volition beryllium utilized to “trace and recover” the billions of dollars worthy of missing lawsuit funds, it added.

A akin effort had already been underway by FTX’s caller management, which hired fiscal advisory institution AlixPartners successful December to behaviour “asset-tracing” for FTX’s missing integer assets.

Related: Sam Bankman-Fried enters not blameworthy plea for each counts successful national court

The Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office reportedly first began its probe of FTX’s illness soon aft the steadfast filed for bankruptcy connected Nov. 11, 2022.

According to its website, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York is known for prosecuting cases involving the usurpation of national laws and investigates a wide array of transgression behaviour “even erstwhile the behaviour arises successful distant places.”

FTX and cardinal executives including Bankman-Fried, co-founder Gary Wang and Alameda Research erstwhile CEO Caroline Ellison had been operating retired of The Bahamas since Sept. 2021 wherever galore of the alleged crimes are believed to person been perpetrated.

On Jan. 3, Bankman-Fried pled “not guilty” to each 8 transgression charges related to FTX’s implosion — which carries a full of 115 years of situation for the FTX laminitis if helium is convicted.

Last month, Wang and Ellison pled guilty to national fraud charges relating to their relation successful the illness of the FTX exchange.