FTX Looking to Recover Millions Paid to Athletes and Sports Clubs

Advisers moving for FTX person analyzed if immoderate payments made by the failed crypto speech to sports stars and organizations tin beryllium returned. The wealth went to personage athletes, including hoops fable Shaquille O’Neal, and sports teams similar the NBA’s Miami Heat and Formula 1’s Mercedes nether sponsorship and advertizing deals.

FTX Advisers Review Payments to O’Neal, Naomi Osaka and Others

Financial advisers hired by the caller absorption of FTX person examined the anticipation of recovering millions of U.S. dollars paid to nonrecreational athletes, sports clubs, and associations that promoted the integer plus speech earlier it collapsed past fall.

Court documents quoted by Bloomberg uncover that the experts person reviewed payments to erstwhile National Basketball Association (NBA) subordinate Shaquille O’Neal (Shaq) and tennis prima Naomi Osaka among others to find if these tin beryllium reversed nether rules that use to transactions made conscionable earlier a Chapter 11 filing.

The Bahamas-headquartered FTX, which was 1 of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, filed for bankruptcy extortion successful the U.S. successful November 2022 amid liquidity issues. Its laminitis and erstwhile CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), awaits the commencement of his trial connected fraud and different charges successful October.

The payments to athletes and sports leagues were made to elevate the illustration of the cryptocurrency exchange. According to the advisers, galore of these were prepayments for advertizing oregon sponsorship deals with organizations specified arsenic Major League Baseball (MLB) and NBA teams.

While FTX noted that the advisers’ disclosures whitethorn not beryllium complete, they amusement that astir $4.9 cardinal were transferred to MLB, different $12.2 cardinal were linked to concern agreements with Formula 1 racing squad Mercedes-AMG Petronas, and $3.4 cardinal were paid to the NBA’s Golden State Warriors.

Some Payments Were Made Days Before FTX Filed for Bankruptcy

In August 2022, an FTX affiliate institution paid $2.5 cardinal to a subsidiary of Authentic Brands Group affiliated with O’Neal, portion of a $4.3 cardinal successful full payments for Shaq and his company. Another $2 cardinal was reportedly paid to Osaka successful aboriginal November, days earlier FTX filed for bankruptcy, retired of a full of astir $3.2 cardinal successful payments for the tennis prima nether concern and endorsement deals.

Other athletes and sports teams mentioned successful the tribunal documents see Jacksonville Jaguars backmost Trevor Lawrence, retired Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz arsenic good arsenic NBA’s Washington Wizards and the Miami Heat. Some of these payments were made astir a period earlier FTX’s Chapter 11 filing.

The study notes that the disclosures travel aft the caller absorption of FTX sued a task superior steadfast that allegedly connected Bankman-Fried to NBA stars and different celebrities. O’Neal, Osaka, and the Warriors among different athletes and teams person denied successful lawsuits work for losses suffered by investors.

In July, FTX besides sued Bankman-Fried and different erstwhile FTX executives successful an effort to regain implicit $1 billion. SBF has been accused of diverting billions of dollars successful FTX customers’ funds to bargain costly property, marque political donations, and concern his different businesses specified arsenic the hedge money Alameda Research.

Do you deliberation FTX volition negociate to retrieve immoderate of the payments made to athletes and sports organizations? Tell america successful the comments conception below.