US Lays Claim to $700M of Assets Linked to Bankman-Fried, FTX

The U.S. government wants to take control of nearly $700 million of assets it seized earlier this month from former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, according to court filings Friday.

Included in the property are over 55 million Robinhood Markets (HOOD) shares worth about $525 million. Bought with borrowed Alameda money, those shares were at the center of a fight involving Bankman-Fried, FTX Group and BlockFi. Officials are also moving to claim $171 million in cash from a series of bank accounts linked to Bankman-Fried’s web of companies.

The government seized those assets and more in early January and are now seeking their forfeiture, per a bill of particulars filed late Friday in Bankman-Fried’s criminal case.

“We believe that these assets are not property in the bankruptcy estate” or are subject to exemptions, meaning they don't have to be frozen like most FTX assets are, pending wind-up, a government lawyer previously told the judge in this case.