“No assets of FDM, client assets or trust assets held by FDM, can be transferred, assigned or otherwise dealt with, without the written approval of the provisional liquidator.” — Bahamas Securities Commission
Things have continued to get worse for FTX. Besides scrambling for funds from investors and colleagues in the industry, the crypto exchange has been further crippled by the Bahamas' new restriction on certain FTX assets.
The Securities Commission of The Bahamas announced that it had taken action to freeze the assets of FTX’s subsidiary, FTX Digital Markets, and related parties. Also, the commission has suspended registration and applied to the Supreme Court of The Bahamas for the appointment of a provisional liquidator.
In September 2021, FTX moved its headquarters from Hong Kong to the Bahamas, citing that it was one of the few places to set up a comprehensive crypto framework.
In response to the Commission’s application, Mr. Brian Simms, K.C. (Lennox Paton Counsel and Attorney-at-Law), was appointed as provisional liquidator of FTX Digital Markets Ltd. (FDM). Furthermore, the directors at FDM no longer have power over the company's affairs.
In a statement by the Commission,
“No assets of FDM, client assets or trust assets held by FDM, can be transferred, assigned or otherwise dealt with, without the written approval of the provisional liquidator.”
The commission also confirmed that they were aware of complaints that the exchange mismanaged, mishandled, and transferred the client’s assets to Alameda Research. However, the Commission assured that they would work proactively to obtain the best possible outcome for FTX users and stakeholders.
Hours after this announcement, a popular Bitcoin advocate, Satoshi Stacker, tweeted that insiders were still withdrawing millions out of FTX. He stated that withdrawal was still open for insider accounts, and they were buying people’s fortunes at miserly rates.
