Emergent Fidelity Technologies, the holding company of Sam Bankman-Fried based in Antigua and Barbuda, has filed for bankruptcy protection.
According to court records filed on February 3, Emergent Fidelity Technologies submitted a voluntary proposal to declare bankruptcy in Chapter 11 filed in the United States bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The company has been the target of a lawsuit filed by crypto lender BlockFi in November over the status of approximately 55 million Robinhood shares.
Robinhood’s stock – valued at more than $590 million at the time of publication – has been a point of contention among parties including BlockFi, FTX lender Yonathan Ben Shimon, and Bankman-Fried himself. The Department of Justice announced on January 6 that it had seized the shares as well as about $20 million US dollars as part of the case against FTX and its executives.
Emergent Fidelity Technologies claimed ownership of the stock and $20 million as its “only known assets,” previously held by brokerage firm Marex Capital Markets prior to the DOJ seizure. According to a declaration by Angela Barkhouse, one of the Joint Provisional Liquidators in the case, Emergent Fidelity Technologies filed for Chapter 11 in the same court as FTX to pursue a “joint administration form” between the two bankruptcies.
“At [Joint Provisional Liquidators’] obligations to the Debtor’s creditors, whoever those creditors are,” said Barkhouse. “Because many parties claim to be creditors or direct owners [Robinhood shares] in the process in the US, JPLs believe that chapter 11 protection is the only practical way to empower the Debtor to defend himself, his Assets, and the interests of his creditors in the US”
related: FTX customers are warned of scammers baiting with the return of assets
According to Barkhouse, Bankman-Fried owns 90% of the company, and FTX founder Gary Wang owns the remaining 10%. Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial is scheduled to begin in October, while Wang has pleaded guilty to fraud charges.