DOJ wants $16 million in Sam Bankman-Fried international bribery Binance account

In the midst of an extensive search for $3 billion in FTX assets, US authorities target a Binance account.

A court petition dated November 12th states that the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has sought to confiscate funds from a Binance account linked to an FTX bribery investigation, totaling over $16 million.

Internet Computer (ICP), Avalanche (AVAX), Ripple (XRP), Cardano (ADA), and Solana (SOL) are among the digital assets that are included in the Binance account, which was established in November 2023.

The account reportedly received deposits in stablecoins and Bitcoin on a daily basis, which were promptly converted to other assets.

In November 2021, the Department of Justice (DOJ) alleges that former CEO of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, authorized a $40 million bribe to Chinese officials.

Law enforcement authorities had suspended Alameda Research’s crypto trading accounts on two exchanges in China. The purpose of this bribe was to unfreeze them. The filing indicated that these accounts contained an estimated $1 billion in cryptocurrency.

Bankman-Fried authorized “tens of millions of dollars in crypto” payments to finalize the bribe after the accounts were unfrozen. In order to conceal the origins and intentions of the payments, the funds were subsequently laundered through numerous private accounts.

The investigators ultimately traced these funds from private wallets to the implicated Binance account. In the interim, the bribery allegations, which were initially included in Bankman-Fried’s indictment, comprised one of thirteen charges against him, alleging that he conspired to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. His conviction was ultimately the result of the separation of that allegation from the primary trial.

This DOJ filing represents another milestone in the ongoing effort to reclaim assets associated with FTX-related criminal activity, which exceeds $3 billion.

In order to expedite its fund recovery mission, FTX has filed numerous lawsuits in recent weeks. The firm initiated legal proceedings against Binance and Changpeng Zhao for $1.8 billion, as well as against Aleksandr Ivanov, the founder of Waves, for $90 million.

Additionally, the developers of Storybook Brawl, a video game that Bankman-Fried advocated for, are the target of another of the exchange suits. FTX also pursued a substantial clawback action against Nawaaz Mohammad Meerun, also known as “Humpy the Whale,” on the grounds that he was responsible for over $1 billion in market manipulation-related losses.

FTX’s political donations and prominent figures, such as former White House official Anthony Scaramucci and renowned marketer Neil Patel, are the focus of additional cases.

These legal actions collectively amount to claims that surpass $3 billion. Nevertheless, Mr. Purple on X, an advocate for FTX creditors, expressed skepticism regarding a complete recovery.

He noted that the defunct firm frequently resolves for a fraction of the claim amount, typically 10% to 20%, and suggested that it would be unexpected if recoveries reached even $0.5 billion from these efforts.

Also Read: South Korean authorities arrest $213 million crypto scamsters