FTX, Bankman-Fried's parents, senior execs bought $121M worth of Bahamas properties: report
Real estate in Nassau, Bahamas area included 'vacation home' for Sam Bankman-Fried's parents, documents say
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Sam Bankman-Fried's failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, his parents and senior executives at the company spent nearly $121 million over the past two years to purchase at least 19 properties in the Bahamas, a report says.
The costly real estate portfolio amassed by FTX in the Caribbean nation included seven condominiums totaling $72 million at the Albany resort outside of Nassau and a "vacation home" in the gated community of Old Fort Bay, in which Bankman-Fried's parents were listed as signatories, according to Reuters, citing property records in the Bahamas Registrar General's Department.
Documents examined by the news agency stated the condos at the Albany resort – which bills itself on its website as having a "championship golf course, mega-yacht marina and variety of dining experiences" – were to be used as "residence for key personnel" of FTX.
Two of the properties obtained by FTX Property Holdings Ltd. were designated for commercial use, according to Reuters.
FALLEN FTX BOSS SPENT LAVISHLY IN THE BAHAMAS WHILE ALLEGEDLY MISUSING CUSTOMER FUNDS
View of the entrance to the condominium complex One Cable Beach, a beachfront residence in New Providence, Bahamas, Nov. 18, 2022. (Reuters/Koh Gui Qing / Reuters Photos)
A view of the penthouse at The Albany in Nassau, Bahamas, which belongs to Sam Bankman-Fried, Friday, Nov. 19, 2022. (AJ Skuy for Fox News Digital / Fox News)
One of those was an $8.55 million cluster of homes that was the cryptocurrency exchange’s headquarters and another was a nearly 5-acre oceanfront plot of land that was intended to be developed into office space, the news agency added.
But that FTX headquarters is now reported to be a ghost town. A security guard told Reuters that workers have not returned to the homes since leaving earlier this month and the plot of land also remains empty.
"Since before the bankruptcy proceedings, Mr. Bankman and Ms. Fried have been seeking to return the deed to the company and are awaiting further instructions," a spokesperson for Stanford University law professors Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried also told Reuters when asked about why their names were listed on records linked to the beachfront Old Fort Bay home.
View of the entrance to Old Fort Bay, a gated community that was once home to a British colonial fort built in the 1700s to protect against pirates, in New Providence, Bahamas, Nov. 18, 2022. (Reuters/Koh Gui Qing / Reuters Photos)
Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and chief executive officer of FTX Cryptocurrency Derivatives Exchange, in New York on Aug 17, 2022. (Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Bankman-Fried, according to Reuters, previously said he lived in a house in the Bahamas with nine other colleagues and treated his staff to free meals and an "in-house Uber-like" service to shuttle them around the tropical destination.
Earlier this month, FTX collapsed and filed for bankruptcy protection. The company said in a court filing on Saturday that it owes its 50 largest creditors more than $3 billion.
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General view of the now defunct FTX offices in the Bahamas, Friday, Nov. 19, 2022. (AJ Skuy for Fox News Digital / Fox News)
John Ray III, who was appointed CEO of FTX after founder Sam Bankman-Fried resigned, also said Saturday that the company has launched a strategic review of the exchange's assets.
FTX was once the world's third-largest exchange with a valuation of nearly $32 billion before a liquidity crisis brought its demise. Bankman-Fried announced on Nov. 11, before stepping down, that FTX, his trading firm Alameda Research, and affiliated companies would file for bankruptcy.
FOX Business’ Paul Best contributed to this report.