While FTX customers around the world patiently await the conclusion of the Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) law in hopes of getting their investment back, Japanese FTX users have already started withdrawing all their funds.
On November 7, 2022, crypto exchange FTX and its subsidiaries stopped all withdrawals after SBF was accused of misappropriating user funds. The domino effect forced Liquid Group – the Japanese crypto trading platform owned by FTX since February 2022 – to stop withdrawing on November 15, 2022.
However, for some excited investors, FTX Japan resumed withdrawals on February 21 – which involved moving funds from the dead exchange to the Liquid Japan account. A few days later, a popular crypto trader from Japan @Whiskey_bonbon_ confirmed that he had successfully withdrawn all his funds.
All payments are complete!
To be honest, at first, I thought I had given up
I would like to express my gratitude to the people at FTXJP for their efforts, because they know the parts that are really suspected.
Even if you haven’t backed down, you have to be patient. pic.twitter.com/34v7MFznLC— Hibiki＠Trader (@Whiskey_bonbon_) February 25, 2023
A rough translation of the above tweet is:
“All payments have been made! To be honest, at first, I thought I had given up. I want to thank the people at FTXJP for their efforts, because they understood the parts that were neglected.
Just one day after resuming the withdrawal of funds, FTX Japan announced that approximately $50 million (6.6 billion yen) was taken from Liquid Global.
A community member responded to the development by saying, “Happy birthday! ! !” many have not yet witnessed the total redemption of funds. The refund process is expected to come with delays as many users are affected by the FTX-SBF failure.
Many community members have confirmed that all the money has been paid. However, FTX investors watching from around the world are still hoping for the same result.
Related: attorney Sam Bankman-Fried requests an extension to the proposed bail conditions
Stacking the charges against SBF, a federal judge ordered an unsealed superseding indictment containing 12 criminal charges.
New superseded indictment against FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried containing 12 counts unsealed in Manhattan federal court https://t.co/MKmmgW7W01 pic.twitter.com/r9JVKNljDt
— Reuters Legal (@ReutersLegal) February 23, 2023
As Cointelegraph reported, US Attorney Damian Williams charged Bankman-Fried with eight counts of fraud-related conspiracy as well as four counts of wire fraud and securities fraud.
SBF’s criminal trial in federal court is scheduled to begin in October, while FTX’s bankruptcy case is pending in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.