The Bahamas seized $3.5 billion in digital assets from FTX after SBF warned of cyberattacks on the bankrupt crypto exchange.
The Bahamas regulator obtained these cryptocurrencies through a Supreme Court order.
According to the regulator, the digital assets are being kept on a temporary basis.
It has ordered all contents of FTX's crypto wallets to be transferred to a wallet under its control.
According to the commission, "immediate interim regulatory action" was required to protect the rights of clients and creditors."
The securities regulator also announced that it will work with other regulators and authorities in different jurisdictions in the future to address issues affecting FTX Digital Markets [FDM] creditors, clients, and stakeholders globally in order to achieve "the best" possible conclusion.
On Thursday, the regulator announced that it is temporarily holding the company's assets worth $3.5 billion. The pricing is specifically dependent on the market rate at the time of transfer. The commission seeks to distribute them to actual customers and creditors.
Furthermore, after the transfer was completed in November, FTX founders Sam Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang lost access to the funds. Christina Rolle, the commission's Executive Director, clearly verified this in an affidavit submitted to the Bahamas Supreme Court. Rolle stated,
“All transferred assets were and continue to be under the sole control of the commission.”
Furthermore, earlier this month, FTX lawyers opposed a request for internal records from its Bahamian subsidiary. They specifically stated that they "do not trust" the Bahamian government with information that could be used to steal the company's assets.
Meanwhile, once the company declared bankruptcy, Bahamian authorities appointed liquidators to wind down FTX's worldwide trading activity.
Another recent FTX-related development is Liquid, the exchange's owned platform, announcing plans to restore customer assets in 2023. The platform's aim to develop a method to facilitate withdrawals by FTX Japan and Liquid Japan users was outlined in a recent official announcement.
Read also: Binance Introduces Apple Pay and Google Pay Feature
