FTX Sues Anthony Scaramucci’s SkyBridge Capital for $100 Million
Embattled crypto giant aims to claw back funds from past investments tied to Sam Bankman-Fried
The FTX bankruptcy estate is taking legal action to recover over $100 million from SkyBridge Capital and its founder, Anthony Scaramucci. The lawsuit seeks to reclaim funds linked to investments and sponsorships initiated by former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) starting in 2022.
Court filings from November 8 reveal that Bankman-Fried's investments included a $12 million sponsorship for Scaramucci's SALT conference in January 2022. Additionally, Alameda Research, FTX’s trading arm, funneled $10 million into the SkyBridge Coin Fund by March 2022. The most significant move came in September 2022, when FTX acquired a 30% stake in SkyBridge’s management entities for $45 million.
FTX's legal team argues these investments lacked financial rationale, asserting that FTX could have secured the underlying crypto assets for a lower cost without involving SkyBridge. Internal communications from FTX reportedly questioned the economic logic of entrusting large sums to SkyBridge, deemed less experienced in crypto trading.
SkyBridge is also accused of breaching contract terms by selling portions of the digital assets in 2023 without FTX’s consent. The holdings in question, primarily Bitcoin and Solana, were valued at $60 million at the time of sale and would be worth $120 million today.
This lawsuit is part of a wave of legal actions from FTX's bankruptcy estate. On October 28, FTX sued KuCoin to retrieve $50 million in assets, and on November 7, it targeted Crypto.com for over $11 million held since 2022. These moves reflect ongoing efforts to recover assets amid FTX’s high-profile collapse and ongoing bankruptcy proceedings.