FTX Moves to Recover Money Sent to Shaq, Miami Heat, LayerZero
- FTX creditors seek to recover $750K sent to Shaq, $300K sent to Naomi Osaka, and $2.3 million sent to Kevin O’Leary.
- The creditors are waiting to see if they’re under rules allowing bankrupt companies to reverse the payments.
- The list also includes $420K sent to the Golden State Warriors and $250K in various payments sent to the Miami Heat.
- The exchange also sued cross-chain protocol LayerZero Labs, aiming to recover around $21 million.
Bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX seeks to recover the money that its previous management, under the leadership of Sam Bankman-Fried, also known as SBF in the crypto space, spent irrationally. As per the new turn of events, the firm is looking to recover the staggering amount of money sent to the likes of Shaquille O’Neal, Naomi Osaka, and other high-profile people.
SBF paid millions of dollars to celebrities, including former basketball pro Shaquille O’Neal and tennis pro Naomi Osaka. As per a 180-page filing submitted with the bankruptcy court a few weeks ago, the creditors of FTX are looking to claw back significant payments made to these celebrities. The money was paid for marketing purposes, and the creditors are waiting to see if they’re under rules allowing bankrupt companies to reverse the payments.
The list confirms that FTX transferred close to $750,000 to O’Neal, $300,000 to Osaka, along with $270,000 to former baseball star David Ortiz and over $200,000 to American football quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Additionally, a payment of around $2.3 million was made to Canadian businessman, investor, journalist, and television personality Kevin OLeary, and the creditors are also looking to claw back the sum.
The creditors are also looking to recover nearly $420,000 sent to the pro basketball team, the Golden State Warriors, and close to $250,000 in various payments to the Miami Heat. Moreover, the filing warned that the final amount FTX may recover from the efforts “may vary materially from the amount reported.”
It is also crucial to note that FTX sued cross-chain protocol LayerZero Labs in an effort to recover $21 million in funds that were allegedly illegally withdrawn prior to the crypto exchange’s shutdown in November. The filing traces the transaction history between Alameda Research and LayerZero between January to May 2022.
The filing noted that Alameda Ventures paid more than $70 million in two transactions to acquire a stake of roughly 4.92% in LayerZero, while adding that the sister firm of Bankman-Fried’s FTX also paid another $25 million for 100 million STG tokens at a public auction, to be distributed over a period of six months beginning in March 2023.
As reported earlier by Bitnation, the exchange, under its new management, filed a lawsuit against the firm’s former executives, SBF, Zixiao “Gary” Wang, Caroline Ellison, and Nishad Singh, claiming that they had access to limitless power.
A crypto journalist with over 3 years of experience in DeFi, NFT, metaverse, etc. Parth has worked with major media outlets in the crypto and finance world and has gained experience and expertise in crypto culture after surviving bear and bull markets over the years.
