FTX is reportedly trying to secure the ownership of the Robinhood stock worth over 440 million USD. They intended to freeze those shares as three others are also trying to lay claim. Based on the court filing dated 22nd December 2022, Emergent Fidelity Technologies currently holds about 56 million Robinhood shares(HOOD). However, 90 per cent of this firm is owned by the crypto exchange FTX co-founder Sam Bankman Fried.
Ownership of Robinhood shares disputed
Soon after SBF was taken into US custody, three different parties started to claim the ownership of Robinhood shares in courts across multiple jurisdictions. This disputed the ownership of these shares.
BlockFi, a popular cryptocurrency company, was the first to make claimants on Robinhood shares. They want to use these shares as additional collateral on losses between themselves and Alameda Research before the FTX’s fallout. BlockFi intends to obtain and sell those shares and has been attempting to do so through the courts of New Jersey since it filed its bankruptcy on Nov 28, 2022.
An FTX creditor, Yonathan Ben Shimon, made the second claimant. He is trying to obtain those shares via a receiver in Antigua. The third and final claimant was made by the co-founder of the FTX crypto exchange himself, Sam Bankman Fried. He attempts to displace the receiver in Antiguan courts and obtain the shares. It is expected that as soon as he obtains the share, he will sell it up to fund his legal expenses. Currently, he is on bail in advance of his trial.
FTX tries to obtain the Robinhood shares
FTX insisted in its filing today that Emergent only nominally owns the shares, and the owner of the Robinhood shares is Alameda Research. To support their claim, they argued that the former Alameda Research CEO, Caroline Ellison treated and expressly represented the Robinhood shares as assets belonging to Alameda Research, both in the company’s spreadsheet and in the negotiations with BlockFi.
Besides, FTX also requested the judges to freeze these shares until the owner is decided and the matter is resolved. If necessary, it says that all creditors should participate in the claims process before the US Bankruptcy Court of Delaware, where the bankruptcy proceeding of FTX is taking place.
The Robinhood shares have been a big problem since last month’s FTX fallout. As early as Nov 10, 2022, insiders suggested that these shares, along with many FTX customer deposits and FTX’s crypto security token, FTT, were used to fund Alameda Research.
What are your thoughts as FTX is trying to secure the ownership of the Robinhood stock? Who do you think is the actual owner of these shares? Let us know in the comments below. And, if you found our content informative, share it with your family and friends.
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