Prosecutors in the US government’s case against Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried have proposed a court order to sell two private aircraft before the conclusion of the forfeiture proceedings against the former FTX CEO.
In a filing with the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on March 22, US Attorney Damian Williams stated that the government sought to execute an interlocutory sale of two planes linked to FTX and SBF “to prevent their devaluation.” Prosecutors had argued in October 2023 that the Bombardier Global and Embraer Legacy aircraft were subject to forfeiture due to their connections to Bankman-Fried’s criminal case.
The exact price at which the government intends to sell the aircraft is unclear. According to court filings from October 2023, the planes were initially bought for $15.9 million and $12.5 million respectively. Prosecutors mentioned that they would reimburse up to $1.8 million for maintenance and upkeep, as well as $183,000 for the delivery of the Legacy, assuming the proceeds from the sale were sufficient.
According to Williams, prosecutors have reached an agreement with FTX and related parties to have the Embraer Legacy delivered to a Florida airport, where the US Marshals Service (USMS) can begin proceedings for a sale “in a timely fashion.” The USMS already has custody of the Bombardier Global following a February 2023 warrant.
The luxury jets are just a few of the assets tied to Bankman-Fried that are subject to forfeiture following his criminal conviction. A March filing listed assets such as Robinhood stock, US dollars in fiat currency, cryptocurrency in Binance and Binance.US accounts, and political contributions made by SBF during his time as FTX CEO. Bankman-Fried and his attorney, Marc Mukasey, did not object to the sale of the aircraft.
Bankman-Fried, the former FTX CEO, was convicted of seven felony counts in November 2023 and is currently in prison awaiting a sentencing hearing on March 28. Prosecutors have recommended a sentence of 40 to 50 years, while Bankman-Fried’s lawyers have requested a 6.5-year sentence.
Magazine: Can crypto exchanges be trusted after the collapse of FTX?