- The DOJ is initiating a civil forfeiture procedure against Binance.
- Former FTX CEO deposited about $16 million on the Binance exchange.
- The deposited funds were linked to bribery by Sam Bankman-Fried.
The FTX bankruptcy case took a new turn, with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) initiating a civil forfeiture procedure against Binance exchange.
According to reports, the DOJ aims to retrieve approximately $16 million held in a Binance account as part of investigation. The alleged funds are presumably linked to bribes authorized by Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of the defunct FTX crypto exchange.
After a year-long investigation, the DOJ found FTX deposits in these cryptocurrencies on Binance: Internet Computer (ICP), Avalanche (AVAX), Ripple (XRP), Cardano (ADA), and Solana (SOL).
Read also: FTX Sues Binance and CZ for $1.8 Billion; Alameda Research Targets Waves Founder
Notably, Solana makes up over half of the total value under investigation—$8.5 million. The value of these cryptocurrencies has increased since they were deposited because the crypto market has been rising recently.
Bankman-Fried’s Alleged Bribery Scheme
Records show that this investigation started in November 2021, when Bankman-Fried allegedly tried to bribe Chinese officials. Details show that Bankman-Fried gave a $40 million payment in Tether (USDT) through Alameda Research to try to unfreeze $1 billion that was stuck in two crypto exchanges in China.
It is worth noting that Alameda Research did not deposit the funds into Binance directly but instead moved them through a few private wallets. The DOJ found a suspicious pattern on the Binance account with the funds, including frequent stablecoin and Bitcoin deposits. The account would then immediately convert the BTC into other cryptocurrencies.
The latest findings can further create problems for Bankman-Fried’s situation, with the former FTX CEO already serving time in jail after a seven criminal counts conviction that bagged him a 25-year jail term.
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