FTX claims rights to over $450m worth of Robinhood shares

FTX’s new CEO resorted to the help of the US court to claim his rights to Robinhood shares worth around $450 million. However, the company is not the only solicitor.

In a document submitted on Dec. 23, FTX requests assistance from the court in its fight to retain control of Robinhood shares. The company’s new CEO, John J. Ray III, filed a motion at the US bankruptcy court for the District of Delaware. 

The now-defunct FTX’s board hopes that the filing will compel the judge to freeze all of Robinhood’s assets until the Court can resolve all issues fairly to all debtors’ creditors.

About 56 million Robinhood Class A common stock shares are now held in a brokerage account with ED&F Man Capital Markets Inc. in New York. Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried acquired these shares in May 2022 through Emergent Fidelity Technologies, a special-purpose holding company established in Antigua and Barbuda.

Since the FTX declaration of bankruptcy, three rival stakeholders have started legal actions to obtain these shares in several jurisdictions. BlockFi, Matchpool founder Yonathan Ben Shimon and Bankman-Fried are among them.

SBF is hoping to get hold of the stockpiled $56m and then use it to pay for his extensive legal fees. Other creditors like BlockFi and Ben Shimon have also claimed that these Robinhood shares were promised as their collateral from the onset.

Meanwhile, the latest filing by the new FTX CEO wants the Court to freeze all Robinhood shares until it resolves all pending issues.