FTX estate faces estimated $3 to $5 billion in US government claims amid bankruptcy proceedings, court filing shows
Quick Take
- U.S. government claims against the FTX estate are expected to total between $3 and $5 billion, according to a court filing on Wednesday.
- FTX customers, Alameda Research lenders, administrative expenses and non-governmental creditor claims remain priority distributions before any U.S. government or U.S. tax claims are paid.
- Customers may see further funds based on the appreciation of the cryptocurrency since the petition date.
$24 billion in unpaid taxes
In December, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service stated that FTX owed $44 billion in unpaid taxes, later adjusting the amount to $24 billion — though it is unlikely to be fully recovered.
According to a court filing dated September 11, 2023, the FTX estate reported recovering approximately $7 billion in assets. However, this figure has likely increased in U.S. dollar value in the subsequent months due to the ensuing crypto bull market.
FTX filed for bankruptcy protection in November 2022. Its former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, was convicted of defrauding FTX users and investors in November 2023 and is currently awaiting sentencing.
Yesterday, FTX’s current CEO, John J. Ray III, disputed Bankman-Fried’s claim that there was “zero” harm to customers in the platform’s catastrophic collapse, labeling it as “reckless” and “false.”
Update: Added more clarity regarding the Civil Remission Fund and the expected payout distribution order.
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