FTX debtors seek subpoenas for inner circle of Sam Bankman-Fried

FTX and affected parties have requested court subpoenas to force Sam Bankman-Fried’s closest advisors to provide documents and information for ongoing investigations.

A motion filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware seeks to glean valuable information from the likes of Gabriel Bankman-Fried and Barbara Fried, the brother and mother of the FTX founder.

According to the filing, FTX and its debtors are pursuing estate assets belonging to the company and investors. However, not all Bankman-Fried’s inner circle has replied with requests for information. The filing indicated that legal representatives of Zhe “Constance” Wang, COO of FTX Trading, and Sam’s father, Joseph Bankman, are the only parties that have agreed to cooperate with information sharing.

After filing for bankruptcy, FTX and its debtors have been working to locate and secure assets to provide some semblance of accountability and preserve the value of stakeholder assets. But, as previously reported by Cointelegraph, FTX’s original management had poor record keeping and security controls, which has exacerbated recovery efforts.

The filing also takes aim at the former FTX CEO, citing public promises to ‘help customers’ and ‘explain what happened’ on social media as lip service given his reluctance to voluntarily assist in bankruptcy proceedings.

“Yet, despite these statements, Mr. Samuel Bankman-Fried has not responded to or complied with the Requests on a voluntary basis. As a result, a court-authorized subpoena is necessary.”

Bankman-Fried is not the only FTX insider that has not obliged requests for cooperation. Former FTX group CTO Gary Wang and Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison declined requests for information, while Barbara Fried had ‘ignored’ requests altogether.

FTX group co-founders Nishad Singh and Gabriel Bankman-Fried, to date had not provided any ‘meaningful engagement’ or response to collaborate with the ongoing bankruptcy proceedings.

The subpoena seeking to glean more information from Bankman-Fried and his advisors is touted to help in recovering ‘substantial additional estate assets’ which were transferred in the lead-up to the collapse of FTX.

The filing also argued that courts routinely order former executives and advisors to produce information in bankruptcy cases and similar action should be taken with the FTX debacle.

As bankruptcy proceedings continue, FTX and affected parties have requested subpoenas for information and documents from close relatives of former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.