FTX’s bankruptcy advisers have taken legal action against Bybit Fintech Ltd. and its affiliated entities, aiming to recover approximately $953 million in cash and digital assets withdrawn from Sam Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency exchange before its Chapter 11 filing a year ago.
According to the lawsuit filed in a Delaware court, Bybit’s investment arm, Mirana Corp., allegedly had exclusive “VIP” privileges, which were not accessible to most FTX customers. It is claimed that Mirana leveraged these special benefits to move the majority of its assets out of FTX before its collapse in November 2022.
The complaint contends that Mirana pressured FTX employees to fulfill its withdrawal requests, while regular FTX.com customers faced delays in attempting to withdraw funds during the exchange’s collapse.
The lawsuit is seeking to recover assets totaling around $953 million, including over $327 million allegedly withdrawn by Mirana from FTX between the early morning of November 7 and November 8, 2022, when FTX paused withdrawals.
The defendants in the bankruptcy lawsuit include Bybit Fintech Ltd., Mirana, a related crypto trading firm called Time Research Ltd, a senior Mirana executive at the time, and Singaporean residents who are alleged to have either benefited from or played a role in the FTX withdrawals subject to the bankruptcy suit.
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