FTX Submits 115-Page Creditor List to Bankruptcy Court
Creditor Scale Unrevealed... US Big Tech Also Among Creditors
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] It has been reported that the list of creditors of FTX, one of the world's top three cryptocurrency exchanges that went bankrupt, includes several South Korean entities such as the Ministry of Environment, Samsung, and the law firm Kim & Chang.
On the 26th (local time), the U.S. business magazine Forbes reported that FTX's legal team submitted a 115-page list of creditors to the Delaware Bankruptcy Court the day before. According to the creditor list obtained and verified by Yonhap News Agency, the Ministry of Environment, Samsung Next, and Kim & Chang law firm were included on the list.
Yonhap News reported that the address listed for the Ministry of Environment on the creditor list matches the government office location in Sejong City. Samsung Next, launched as Samsung Electronics' innovation organization, was also listed as an FTX creditor, with the company's Mountain View, California office address included. Mountain View is located in Silicon Valley, home to Google's headquarters.
In addition, the list included South Korea's largest law firm Kim & Chang, accounting and consulting firms EY Han Young and Samil PwC, as well as shared office service providers such as The Executive Centre and Ventago. However, the background for these institutions being listed as creditors and the actual scale of their claims remain unknown.
Forbes also reported that major U.S. big tech companies such as Google, Meta, Twitter, Apple, Netflix, LinkedIn, Amazon, and Microsoft (MS) were confirmed as FTX creditors. Forbes commented, "This shows how many people, companies, and media outlets FTX owed money to before its founder Sam Bankman-Fried was indicted."
Forbes speculated that FTX likely formed relationships with these big tech companies during its extensive promotional activities involving advertising, sponsorships, and paid partnerships. Netflix told Forbes, "We were unaware of having any business relationship with FTX" and "We do not understand why we were registered as a creditor." Google, Apple, and MS declined to comment to Forbes.
On the 3rd (local time), Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of FTX, leaving the courthouse after the trial. [Photo by AP Yonhap News]
Earlier, the U.S. federal prosecutors arrested Sam Bankman-Fried, who filed for FTX's bankruptcy, in the Bahamas and extradited him to the United States, where he was indicted on eight charges including fraud, money laundering, and illegal campaign contributions. Bankman-Fried is under house arrest on charges of embezzling billions of dollars of customer funds to repay debts of his affiliate Alameda Research, purchase luxury real estate in the Bahamas, and provide political donations, but he denies guilt in court.
Meanwhile, on the 20th, U.S. federal prosecutors seized approximately $700 million (about 864.5 billion KRW) worth of FTX assets suspected to be related to Bankman-Fried and FTX. These assets included Robinhood stocks, bank accounts, and cash held under the name of FTX Digital Markets, a subsidiary of FTX in the Bahamas.
The Robinhood stocks amount to 55 million shares, valued at approximately $526 million (about 649.6 billion KRW). The U.S. federal prosecutors believe Bankman-Fried embezzled customer funds to purchase Robinhood stocks. Prosecutors also seized Binance accounts and funds held by FTX, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, but did not disclose the value of these accounts and funds.
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