FTX To Recover $18 Million In Promotional Payments From Celebrities
In a recent report, the current board of investigators and bankruptcy managers assigned to manage the collapsed FTX exchange is set to pursue celebrities whom the former administration of the firm paid millions of dollars to run promotional ads before its collapse.
According to the report, after one year in which FTX filed Chapter One bankruptcy, which took a heavy toll on other crypto entities dependent on the firm, the firm is now going after different individuals and businesses with the aim of recovering money spent inappropriately to refund its creditors and customers. In that vein, the firm is reportedly after celebrities and public figures who were at one point or the other running adverts for the firm, seeking to receive the money.
The report showed that in 2021, the FTX expended so much resources in its marketing campaigns, hiring numerous celebrities from all walks of life, like Naomi Osaka, a Tennis star, and a Basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal, to promote its products. Many of these stars received prepayments worth millions of dollars, which the firm now wants back.
FTX Calls Out Numerous Celebrities For Refund
In addition, the report revealed that the collapsed firm filed for a motion on August 31, intending to claw back all the payments made to the celebrities, football teams, stadiums, etc. adverts. In total, FTX is hoping to take in all the $18 million expended on promotions last year. According to the stat, Miami Heat Arena has the highest single payment as the exchange claimed to have paid $3,398,046 for using its edifice.
Furthermore, FTX reportedly took a bold step that threw the entire crypto community in shock as it allegedly signed a deal to rename the Miami-Dade arena to the FTX Arena for five years over a whopping fee of $135 million in 2021. However, the deal did not pull through, as the firm collapsed shortly after.
Additionally, the firm reportedly paid Kevin O’Leary, a Canadian businessman, a sum of $2,348,339, GameS top received $1,850,000, paid Fortune Media Inc. a sum of $2,564,187 in two installments, and also gave Coachella Music Festival a whopping $1,989,167.
Also, in the filing, the firm mentioned some other celebrities, including ABG Shaq for $750,000, Naomi Osaka for $308,330, David Ortiz for $270,833, and Trevor Lawrence for $205,555. In addition, the Warriors professional basketball team is also under the FTX’s radar for a repayment of $417,150.
FTX Plans To Sell Out Its Stashed Crypto Assets
Meanwhile, while the FTX exchange continues to struggle to recover customers’ and creditors’ funds, some news is spreading that the firm plans to sell out its significant crypto assets. In addition, the report confirmed that the firm had motioned the court for approval to sell all its crypto assets in order to use the realized revenue to set up a repayment program for victims of its collapse in 2022.
And to the firm’s delight, a federal court in New York reportedly granted the firm’s motion, and now its significant crypto holding is up for sale. According to the report, FTX has a cryptocurrency asset stash worth about $3.4 billion in the currency market price.
Previously, the crypto firm appointed Galaxy Digital to monitor the sales of its crypto holding, and the court is set to grant him leave to carry out the obligation. Also, before the court approved the motion, Solana coun (SOL) witnessed a slight drop in price in anticipation of the massive sale as the firm reportedly holds SOL worth about $400 million.
Furthermore, the report revealed that the firm also holds other significant cryptos like BTC, ETH, DOGE, POL, FTT, and others in large quantities. However, it would be impossible for the firm to offload all these crypto assets at a go as some of them are locked under vesting, which would take a while to unlock.
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