Since FTX declared bankruptcy, many amazing inside stories have gradually surfaced, and the black material about the founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) has also been uncovered one by one. During the period, at least 19 properties were purchased in the Bahamas, worth about 120 million US dollars.
Most of the properties FTX bought were beachfront mansions, including seven private apartments in the upscale resort community of Albany worth nearly $72 million, Reuters reported , citing official real estate records . The real estate deed shows that these private apartments are all purchased by a certain department of FTX, mainly for the accommodation of “key employees”, but it is still impossible to verify whether they are really “employee residences”.
It is worth noting that Reuters also found that an object located in Old Fort Bay that was used as a “holiday home” was also quite noticeable, because the property documents were signed by SBF’s parents, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, and When asked why they decided to buy a property in the Bahamas and how exactly the money was paid for, SBF’s parents responded that they had been trying to return the property to FTX.
Blockbuster reported earlier that as the person in charge of handling FTX’s bankruptcy reorganization, FTX’s current CEO John Ray said last week that FTX used company funds to buy houses and other personal items for employees:
From what I understand, FTX Group used company funds in the Bahamas to purchase homes and other personal items for employees and consultants, some of these transactions do not appear to be recorded as loans, and some real estate was even recorded in the individual names of these employees and consultants.
“Reuters” pointed out that during 2021 and 2022 alone, FTX subsidiary FTX Property Holdings Ltd will buy 15 properties worth nearly US$100 million, but it is impossible to determine where the funds came from.
The most expensive property ever sold was a $30 million penthouse in Albany. The sale, dated March 17, was signed by FTX Property president Ryan Salame and shows its use as a “key employee residence,” according to property records. Ryan Salame did not respond to a request for comment.
Other high-end real estate purchases include three condominiums at One Cable Beach. The apartments, priced between $950,000 and $2 million, were purchased for residential use by former FTX engineering executive Nishad Singh, FTX co-founder Gary Wang and Sam Bankman-Fried, records show.
As for the FTX headquarters, it is now idle, with all the furniture leaning against the windows, and the company LOGO has been removed. A guard said that after FTX employees left earlier this month, they never returned to the headquarters
