On Monday, Alameda Research Ltd. filed a lawsuit against Voyager Digital LLC and HTC Trading Inc. in US bankruptcy court. The lawsuit alleges that the defendants received preferential transfers of ownership from Alameda Research and that the plaintiffs seek to recover approximately $445.8 million from Voyager and HTC.
Legal battle erupts over crypto asset transfers allegedly made by Alameda Research
A recently filed lawsuit in the FTX bankruptcy proceedings shows that Alameda Research, the defunct quant trading firm created by Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), is seeking about $446 million from the bankrupt Voyager Digital and HTC Trading exchange. Alameda’s lawyers say the company paid off outstanding loans after Voyager filed for bankruptcy in July. The lawsuit also asserts that the transfers are recoverable as an administrative priority under sections 503 and 507 of the US Bankruptcy Code.
“The collapse of Alameda and its affiliates amid allegations that Alameda was secretly borrowing billions of FTX exchange assets is widely known,” the file details. “Much of the (warranted) attention paid to the alleged misconduct of Alameda and his former leadership, now indicted, has largely missed the role played by Voyager and other cryptocurrency ‘lenders’ who funded Alameda and fueled that alleged misconduct, whether knowingly or recklessly. ”, adds the complaint.
When Voyager filed for bankruptcy in July, it cited a loan default worth hundreds of millions from Three Arrows Capital. After Voyager’s bankruptcy, Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX claimed they could offer early liquidity to Voyager Digital clients in the process. They then detailed plans to buy Voyager and its assets for $1.4 billion. Shortly thereafter, the Texas State Securities Board (TSSB) opposed FTX’s offer, stating that the state securities commissioner needed to “determine whether FTX US complies with the law.”
Alameda’s attorneys say in the filing that after the firm paid Voyager in crypto assets, it “was unable to determine whether (Voyager) had a valid and effective lien or security interest.” The plaintiffs’ lawyers consider the transfers to be “preferential transfers” that were “avoidable”. Alameda insists that he is entitled to payment for the transfers, which he says were “made for the benefit of one or more of the defendants.”
What do you think of Alameda Research’s lawsuit against Voyager Digital and HTC Trading? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
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