Bahamian bank Deltec is facing a new lawsuit claiming it provided a ‘secret’ line of credit to FTX fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried that allowed him to buy Tether, a February 17 Bloomberg report reveals.
Communications Reveal FTX’s Ties to Tether in New Lawsuit
Originally filed in Florida federal court on Friday, documents verified by Bloomberg allege “Bankman-Fried’s hedge fund Alameda Research fueled the growth of Tether using in part a secret short-term line of credit worth billions of dollars” from Deltec.
According to Bloomberg, former CEO of Alameda Research and the ex-girlfriend of Bankman-Fried Caroline Ellison has cooperated with the investigation and has “turned over 7,000 pages of Telegram chats.”
Reporter Zeke Faux, who originally published the story, took to X to share a number of documents detailing communications between key FTX and Alameda Research players.
more interesting texts with Tether revealed by Caroline Ellison in FTX lawsuit pic.twitter.com/OcR4WXnTNy
— Zeke Faux (@ZekeFaux) February 18, 2024
“Money for Sam has traditionally = money for Giancarlo (Devasini) so all around good,” former FTX CEO of Digital Markets, Ryan Salame, said in a message included in the filings.
“We are a big family…we will conquer the world,” Giancarlo Devasini, Tether’s Chief Financial Officer replied.
“What’s your role in this madhouse,” an unnamed messenger asked an Alameda trader.
“Make money for Sam (Bankman-Fried) I guess,” the Alameda Trader replied.
Deltec Chairman Denies Knowledge of FTX’s Misconduct
Despite the litigation brought forth by a number of the exchange’s victims, the report states that Desiree Moore, a lawyer for Deltec, claims the bank’s chairman, Jean Chalopin, had zero knowledge of FTX’s crypto-related crimes until they were made public.
“The allegations rely heavily on unsubstantiated statements by individuals who we understand are settling their lawsuits with plaintiffs in exchange for providing the information,” Bloomberg quotes Moore as saying.
SBF’s Never-Ending Legal Saga Continues This Week
Bankman-Fried was convicted on seven different counts of fraud in November 2023 following a grueling month-long trial that saw several FTX and Alameda Research employees testify against the disgraced “king of crypto,” including FTX co-founder Gary Wang, FTX’s former Head of Engineering Nishad Singh, and Ellison.
All testified under a cooperation agreement with the U.S. government in hopes of reducing the severity of their own criminal sentences.
Bankman-Fried’s sentencing is currently scheduled for March 28, 2024, and he is currently being held at Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. He is due back in Manhattan federal court for a Curcio hearing regarding his new legal representation on Wednesday, February 21.
Representatives from Deltec and Tether were not immediately available to respond to cryptonews.com’s request for comment.
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