hah!
FTX used corporate funds to purchase employee homes, new filing shows
281–290 of 451 posts
Re: FTX used corporate funds to purchase employee homes, new filing shows
#282Earlier quoted context omitted.
They were paying out guaranteed 15% returns "with no risk" to investors. Basically a textbook Ponzi scheme pitch and yet again it worked. https://www.theblock.co/post/186187/alameda-promised-high-re...
Again, that's the Alameda arm, I'm talking about the exchange.
There is some evidence that they "passed" the audits by moving all of the money around the companies while auditing them one at a time using a hidden money transfer function written by SBF.
Re: FTX used corporate funds to purchase employee homes, new filing shows
#283Those are some candid remarks by the new CEO. "I have over 40 years of legal and restructuring experience. [...] Never in my career have I seen such a complete failure of corporate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information as occurred here. From compromised systems integrity and faulty regulatory oversight abroad, to the concentration of control in the hands of a very small group of in…
> I am really looking forward to the next Matt Levine column going through this filing! Got u fam: https://archive.ph/VaSw8
Re: FTX used corporate funds to purchase employee homes, new filing shows
#284Once again I need to poin tout the shocking truth that FTX had no CFO [1]. The CFO's experience and reputation is waht gives investors and regulators confidence that the financial statements that the CFO literally signs off on are valid. Listed companies on the NASDAQ and NYSE have lots of requirements here (eg internal and external audits). Obviously these don't apply to FTX but the truly shocking thing here is the…
His parents are both lawyers! And law professors! Specializing in compliance and ethics!
Re: FTX used corporate funds to purchase employee homes, new filing shows
#285how did ftx successfully raise so much vc money recently? do these top vc firms do no due diligence?
> how did ftx successfully raise so much vc money recently? Maybe they got to join the FTX polycule if they invested enough. Who wouldn't want to get in on that.
Re: FTX used corporate funds to purchase employee homes, new filing shows
#286Earlier quoted context omitted.
Serious prison time for the executives involved would probably be more effective.
>> Serious prison time for the executives involved would probably be more effective. Top executives, especially well-connected ones never get prison time. Instead, you usually have Indian/Chinese scapegoats or someone equally disliked. The entire flash crash was blamed on a lone indian man living with his parents: https://www.bbc.com/news/explainers-51265169 Nevermind Citadel, 2Sigma, Jane Street, Goldman Sachs The 2…
Navinder Sarao - Sentenced to a year of home detention
Kareem Serageldin - Sentenced to 30 months in prison
Re: FTX used corporate funds to purchase employee homes, new filing shows
#287Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's one theory. Of course, given the depth of financial depravity on display here and the incredible thinness of the financial defense, one must also entertain the theory that they did do the due diligence, they were aware of how dangerous this was, and they invested anyhow for other reasons. And that those reasons are probably not good. There have been many cases where companies go to great lengths to do accounti…
> FTX’s list of investors spans powerful and well-known investment firms: NEA, IVP, Iconiq Capital, Third Point Ventures, Tiger Global, Altimeter Capital Management, Lux Capital, Mayfield, Insight Partners, Sequoia Capital, SoftBank, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Ribbit Capital, Temasek Holdings, BlackRock and Thoma Bravo. - https://archive.ph/1tjP5 This is an extraordinary number of high-profile companies which eithe…
Re: FTX used corporate funds to purchase employee homes, new filing shows
#288Earlier quoted context omitted.
>> Serious prison time for the executives involved would probably be more effective. Top executives, especially well-connected ones never get prison time. Instead, you usually have Indian/Chinese scapegoats or someone equally disliked. The entire flash crash was blamed on a lone indian man living with his parents: https://www.bbc.com/news/explainers-51265169 Nevermind Citadel, 2Sigma, Jane Street, Goldman Sachs The 2…
Bernie Madoff was a top executive, with great connections.
Re: FTX used corporate funds to purchase employee homes, new filing shows
#289Earlier quoted context omitted.
The stuff that Sequoia said about him is almost unreal. They talked like he was going to be the greatest entrepreneur in human history. All because he exploited a momentary arbitrage in Japanese Bitcoin exchanges. Then they gave him shitloads of money and acceded to not getting board seats. I honestly wonder if they were that trusting or they just wanted to maintain deniability.
> All because he exploited a momentary arbitrage in Japanese Bitcoin exchanges. Originally the story was korean exchanges; he changed to saying Japanese, presumably after too many people pointed out the korean story was impossible. (The Japanese story was also more or less impossible, they could have made a bit of money maybe even millions but not the $10+bn he claimed)
Both of these arbs were glaringly obvious and talked about constantly, but difficult to pull off due to banking hurdles in both countries.
Re: FTX used corporate funds to purchase employee homes, new filing shows
#290To be honest: I'm just happy I get to experience another Enron, but this time I can watch it in real time on Twitter!