New York
CNN
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Recently unsealed bankruptcy documents have revealed thousands of creditors who FTX owes after the once-mighty crypto exchange collapsed in November.
Wall Street heavyweights including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan were named to the list of creditors, which includes businesses, charities, individuals and other entities in a 116-page document filed late Wednesday. FTX is now at the center of a massive fraud investigation.
Also included in the list of creditors are media companies, such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, commercial airliners, including American, United, Southwest and Spirit, as well as several Big Tech players, including Netflix, Apple and Meta.
On Thursday, lawyers for FTX filed an additional document informing the court that the list – known as the matrix of creditors – is “intended to be very broad” and “includes parties that may appear in the books and records of debtors. for a number of reasons. Being on the list does not «necessarily indicate that the party is a creditor» of FTX or its affiliates, they wrote.
Goldman Sachs, for its part, is named in the creditor matrix but does not appear to be a creditor. In a statement to CNN on Wednesday, the bank said it had not filed a lawsuit against FTX.
«This type of creditor matrix is prepared by debtors for the purpose of informing interested parties in a bankruptcy proceeding and does not necessarily constitute evidence of a relationship with creditors,» a spokesperson said.
The document does not disclose the amount or nature of the debt, and the names of individual creditors — primarily customers who deposited funds on FTX — remain redacted at FTX’s request. Listing of creditors does not necessarily mean that the parties had an FTX account.
FTX is believed to have over a million creditors, with the top 50 collectively owing over $3 billion.
The crypto platform was once one of the most popular crypto exchanges on the planet, powered by celebrities and high profile sports team partnerships. It billed itself as a beginner-friendly crypto platform, allowing customers to deposit fiat currency and exchange it for digital assets. But FTX crashed in November as speculation about its balance sheet sent investors panicking. Amid a liquidity crunch, the company filed for bankruptcy, leaving customers in limbo.
Federal prosecutors investigating FTX say its founder and former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, orchestrated a massive fraud by stealing client funds to cover losses at his hedge fund, Alameda Research. They also accuse him of using stolen money to buy luxury real estate and contributing to US political campaigns.
Bankman-Fried, who was charged in December and still under house arrest at his parents’ California home, pleaded not guilty to eight counts earlier this month. He has repeatedly denied committing fraud and is due to stand trial in October.
Two of his former business partners have pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges and are cooperating with prosecutors in the Southern District of New York. Both associates implicated Bankman-Fried in the alleged crimes.