‘It’s Very Clear Now’ FTX Committed Fraud, Says Hedge Fund CEO Anthony Scaramucci

Skybridge Capital chief executive Anthony Scaramucci is now convinced that collapsed crypto exchange FTX committed wrongdoing.

Scaramucci had previously refrained from accusing FTX of crimes, saying he wanted to hold back from claiming they perpetuated “fraud” because it’s “actually a legal term.”

But he now tells CNBC he thinks says it’s “very clear” FTX committed fraud.

FTX purchased a 30% stake in Skybridge, an alternative investments firm, back in September.

Scaramucci tells CNBC that Skybridge can buy back the stake but acknowledges that it will probably take months to facilitate the deal.

“We’re waiting for the clearance from the bankruptcy people, the lawyers and the investment bankers to figure out exactly what we’re going to be buying back, and when.”

FTX filed for bankruptcy in November after the crypto exchange failed to meet withdrawal requests from its customers. The exchange’s former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is facing up to 115 years in prison after being accused of defrauding investors and mishandling customer assets.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has also seized $456 million worth of shares of the popular trading app Robinhood that were linked to Bankman-Fried.

Prosecutors with the Commercial Litigation branch of the DOJ Civil Division said in a new filing that the seized assets constitute property involved in the violations of money laundering and wire fraud criminal statutes and are not properties of the bankruptcy estate.

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