FTX Property Buying Spree: SBF Parents, FTX Firms Spent $121 Million On Bahamas Real Estate
Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried’s parents, and senior officials of the firm purchased at least 19 homes in the Bahamas valued at roughly $121 million over the last two years, according to official documents.
The majority of FTX’s purchases were luxury beachfront houses, including seven condominiums in Albany, for about $72 million.
The FTX founder’s parents, Stanford University law professors Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, are listed as signatories on documents for another residence with beach access in Old Fort Bay, a gated enclave that was formerly home to a British colonial fort built in the 1700s to protect against pirates. According to one of the paperwork dated June 15, the property will be used as a “vacation house.”
“Since before the bankruptcy proceedings, Mr. Bankman and Ms. Fried have been seeking to return the deed to the company and are awaiting further instructions,” the spokesperson for the parents said.
Reuters investigated property records at the Bahamas Registrar General’s Department. In 2021 and 2022, FTX Property Holdings Ltd, an FTX subsidiary, purchased 15 properties valued over $100 million.
The unit’s most costly purchase was a $30-million penthouse at the Albany. The property papers for the penthouse, dated March 17, were signed by Ryan Salame, president of FTX Property, and said that it was intended for “residence for key personnel.”
Three condominiums at One Cable Beach, a beachfront property in New Providence, were also purchased. According to records, the condominiums cost between $950,000 and $2 million and were purchased for domestic use by Nishad Singh, the former head of engineering at FTX, Gary Wang, an FTX co-founder, and Bankman-Fried.
Bankman-Fried has reportedly maintained a somewhat secluded existence in the Bahamas, surrounded by a small clique of colleagues, some of whom were in intimate relationships with other FTX employees. He and his top lieutenants shared a penthouse at Albany, a 600-acre oceanfront resort on the Bahamas’ island of New Providence.
READ: In A Nutshell: How FTX Fell From Grace, According To Sam Bankman-Fried Himself
The Bahamas Securities Commission stated recently that it had ordered the transfer of all digital assets of FTX Digital Markets, a Bahamas-based FTX company that filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection two days ago.
