Fenwick & West LLP, former primary counsel for FTX, has been slammed with a class-action lawsuit stating the law firm allegedly helped the crypto exchange evade regulations and guidance to apparently perpetrate a multi-billion dollar fraud.
According to an Aug. 7 filing in a US Central District Court by a group of FTX customers, the law firm set up hidden entities authorizing FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried and other execs to devise “bolstered but illegal techniques” to supposedly propagate misdoings, like North Dimension and North Wireless Dimension which reportedly retained misappropriated FTX-funded money.
The suit claims Fenwick & West endorsed beyond regular aid, like constructing takeovers for FTX US that would elude more tailored regulation, and monetarily directed events the law firm had presented.
Furthermore, FTX customers held firmly in the conviction that the law firm knowingly facilitated withheld details to intimidate them, presenting a deal between FTX US, assorted FTX subsidiaries, and the law firm to be deliberately manipulative – ultimately calculating ploy that capitalized off FTX’s cons.
The other FTX insiders besides Bankman-Fried identified by plaintiffs were former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison, past FTX co-founder Gary Wang,and former FTX engineering head Nishad Singh.
Previous similar claims against Fenwick & West surfaced in February, dubbing the law firm enabling Bankman-Fried’s purported scheme, taking advantage of aid undoubtedly contributive with regards to the outcome.
FTX, however, filed for bankruptcy in November 2021 from being unable to process customers’ withdrawals, Bankman-Fried during that time going into house captivity in Honolulu facing twelve charges, amid those wires and emails fraud, racketing, financial laundering.
He is expected to live through two court cases later this October, again in March. Opportunely prosecutors, on Aug. 8, said they may resume with reasserting charge relating to prohibited finance, condemned due to the mismatch of a commitment Bethesundefinedsahn.
To evade liabilities, FTX’s ex-counsel lawyerly collottage with global law-servicing authority related terms, Gibson Dunn in June “21 to furnish legally advocated safeguard, according to Reuters following a verifying order.
