The goal behind an overpriced buyout of the Swiss company was to get a proper European license.
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According to the legal team of the FTX investors, trying to return their funds through court, a failed crypto exchange spent “nearly $400 million” to acquire Digital Assets DA AG (“DAAG”). Later the Swiss company became known as FTX Europe. Now the plaintiffs are eager to be refunded the money that was spent on it by Sam Bankman-Fried and his associates.
The complaint for avoidance and recovery of transfers was filed to the United States bankruptcy court in the district of Delaware on July 12. The plaintiffs are stating that SBF acquired DAAG through Alameda Research for $376 million, even though the Swiss company had limited business and no intellectual property “besides business plan”. FTX executives’ goal was to obtain access to European regulators by owning a local company.
In the end, as the complaint goes, DAAG indeed helped FTX to get a Cyprus operating license by buying out the local company for 2 million euro ($2.2 million). Moreover, FTX continued paying DAAG, which became FTX Europe, millions of dollars for “IT and consulting services”.
Related: US authorities are investigating former FTX exec for potential campaign finance violations
Plaintiffs intend to recover at least part of the funds from the Defendants — cofounders and former top executives of the DAAG turned FTX Europe. On a number of counts, the complaint believes each of the transfers in a DAAG deal to be made “with the intent to hinder, delay, or defraud present or future creditors.” Hence, the Plaintiffs may recover the full amount of these transfers plus interest, costs and fees to the extent available, for the benefit of the FTX bankruptcy estate.
The sum, openly demanded by Plaintiffs, is “no less than $323,500,000”, plus the value of any additional avoidable transfers that the Plaintiffs learn during their research.
FTX and its subsidiaries have faced numerous charges since the exchange filed for bankruptcy in November 2022. Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried awaits two criminal trials on his role in the alleged crimes, while former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang pleaded guilty to fraud charges in December 2022.
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