Bahamas Government May Have Directed 'Unauthorized' FTX Transactions, New Bankruptcy Filing Says

The company says it has 'credible evidence' the Bahamas government directed unauthorized access to FTX systems after the company filed for bankruptcy in the U.S.

Nov 17, 2022 at 2:40 p.m. UTC

Updated Nov 17, 2022 at 2:46 p.m. UTC

CDCROP: Photo of FTX website (Rob Mitchell/CoinDesk) — Photo of FTX website (Rob Mitchell/CoinDesk)

Jack Schickler is a CoinDesk reporter focused on crypto regulations, based in Brussels, Belgium. He doesn’t own any crypto.

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Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX is accusing the government of the Bahamas of directing unauthorized access to FTX systems for the purpose of withdrawing assets after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S., court filings from Thursday show.

The document, filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, did not specify which transactions were unauthorized or how.

The debtors – what remains of the company – “have credible evidence that the Bahamian government is responsible for directing unauthorized access to the Debtors’ systems for the purpose of obtaining digital assets,” after legal proceedings began in the U.S. on Nov. 11, said the filing, attributed to FTX Trading.

"It appears that the automatic stay has been flaunted, by a government actor no less," the filing added, referring to the bankruptcy norms which require a freezing of assets until they can be divided up to creditors.

The filing cites "recorded and verified texts" from former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and co-founder Gary Wang, that were made in connection with an investigation into a hack that occurred over the weekend following the bankruptcy filing.

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