The United States Departure of Justice has reportedly seized or was in the process of seizing more than $400 million worth of Robinhood shares linked to FTX as part of the case against the crypto exchange.
According to a Jan. 4 report from Reuters, U.S. officials told a judge they were in the process of seizing assets tied to FTX and its former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, which included 56 million shares of Robinhood — worth roughly $468 million at the time of publication. The report comes a day after a judge in the criminal case against SBF ordered him not to access or transfer any cryptocurrency or assets from FTX or Alameda.
Amid FTX’s bankruptcy proceedings, control of the Robinhood shares has been under contention as many investors and creditors look to be made whole. BlockFi, Bankman-Fried and FTX creditor Yonathan Ben Shimon have all staked claims to the assets.
In federal court on Jan. 3, Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to eight criminal counts, including wire fraud, securities fraud and violations of campaign finance laws. He also previously denied moving funds from Alameda, saying he no longer had access to the wallets since stepping down as CEO in November.
Related: The outcome of SBF’s prosecution could determine how the IRS treats your FTX losses
The former FTX CEO has been under house arrest at his parent’s home in California since December but has been allowed to travel for approved reasons, including showing up for court in New York. His trial date has been set for Oct. 2.
