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FTX’s bankruptcy lawyers and advisers pocket $32.5M in February

February’s round of legal expenses for bankrupt crypto exchange FTX has been published, and it remains a scary figure for debtors.

A series of court filings from April 4 to April 10 detailed the monthly fee statements for February of the law firms involved with FTX’s bankruptcy proceedings, which come to a combined total of around $32.5 million.

The figure didn’t include the recompense for restructuring chief and CEO John J. Ray III, who pocketed $305,000 in February, according to a March court filing.

Ray’s remuneration for March came in at a similar figure, with an April 10 filing showing his total fees and expenses were $329,173.

The FTX chief billed at $1,300 per hour and reported working 255.9 hours for the period of March 1 to March 31. This makes his fees a whopping $327,470, with the remaining $1,703 for airfares, lodging, transport, meals and other expenses.

John J Ray III’s expenses and hourly billings for the month of March. Source: Kroll

The law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart and Sullivan sought a total of over $2.7 million in reimbursements for February. Partners at the firm billed between $1,246 and $1,917 per hour and associates billed between $747 and $1,183

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April 16, 2023 by ATTORNEY

Lawyers for Genesis and Its Creditors Are ‘Optimistic’ for a Quick Resolution to Bankruptcy Woes

Lawyers for Genesis Global told a federal bankruptcy court in New York City on Monday that they’ve been working with creditors’ representatives and the U.S. Trustee’s Office “around the clock” for the past two months in order to reach a “consensual resolution” with the embattled company’s creditors.

Genesis’ lending arm halted withdrawals on Nov. 18, 2022, after what its lawyers described as “a run on the bank” in the wake of FTX’s collapse earlier that month. Two months later, on Jan. 19, Genesis Global Holdco – the holding company of Genesis Global Capital – and two of its subsidiaries, Genesis Asia Pacific (GAP) and Genesis Global Capital (GGC), global-files-for-bankruptcy-protection/” data-ylk=”slk:filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection” class=”link “filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New York.

Genesis’ lawyers – from the New York-based law firm Cleary Gottleib – told bankruptcy court Judge Sean H. Lane at a hearing on Monday they expect to reach an agreement with the creditors by the end of the week.

“We have a timeline and an approach to get through this case as quickly as possible,” Genesis attorney Sean O’Neal told the judge. “We really want to avoid getting involved in a prolonged

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January 25, 2023 by ATTORNEY

Bankruptcy court told FTX and Alameda they owe BlockFi $1B, but it’s complicated

A lawyer for BlockFi told the first-day hearing of its bankruptcy proceedings that the crypto lender has $355 million stuck on FTX and that the collapsed exchange’s sister company Alameda Research has defaulted on a $680 million loan.

BlockFi filed 15 motions on Nov. 28 that were approved by the court in the first day hearing on Nov. 29, including the redaction of personal details of its 50 largest creditors and the appointment of Kroll Restructuring Administration as its claims and noticing agent — the same firm chosen by FTX for its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case.

In a message emailed to worried clients, BlockFi noted that the approved motions allow it to continue “core operations” during the restructuring process and also to continue to pay its employees and independent contractors. BlockFi estimates that its wages bill is around $5.8 million per month and that it owed around $1.5 million in wages when it filed the motion on Nov. 28.

The message to clients said that BlockFi’s “singular focus” throughout the proceedings is “maximizing value for all clients and other stakeholders.”

According to a Nov. 29 CNBC report, BlockFi’s attorney, Joshua Sussberg, also added in the hearing that BlockFi plans

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December 1, 2022 by ATTORNEY

BlockFi lawyer tells court priority is to ‘maximize client recoveries’

In this photo illustration, the BlockFi logo seen displayed on a smartphone.

Rafael Henrique | Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

BlockFi plans to reopen withdrawals as part of an effort to “maximize client recoveries,” the crypto lender’s lawyers said at a court hearing Tuesday, a day after the firm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

BlockFi’s lawyers at that hearing expressed optimism that the firm is in good position to restructure and salvage the business through the bankruptcy process.

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“We want to make sure we get people back as much of their value as quick as we can,” said Josh Sussberg, a partner at BlockFi’s legal firm Kirkland & Ellis.

BlockFi’s collapse was precipitated by exposure to Three Arrows Capital — which filed for bankruptcy protection in July — and to Alameda Research, the FTX trading arm that borrowed hundreds of millions of dollars from BlockFi. FTX had arranged a rescue plan for BlockFi, but that fell apart when FTX faced its own liquidity crisis earlier this month and rapidly sank into bankruptcy.

BlockFi loaned $671 million

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November 30, 2022 by ATTORNEY

Celsius execs withdrew millions before bankruptcy, court filings show

LONDON – Top executives at Celsius Network withdrew at least US$30 million (S$43 million) of cryptocurrencies in the month before suspending customer withdrawals from the platform, according to bankruptcy court documents filed by lawyers for the crypto lender in New York late on Wednesday.

Then chief executive officer Alex Mashinsky, co-founder Daniel Leon and chief technology officer Nuke Goldstein, and entities identified in the documents as their related parties, made a series of withdrawals in May totalling more than US$30 million, these filings allege. Transactions were denominated in Bitcoin, Ether, USDC, Celsius’ own CEL token and “wrapped” Bitcoin.

Mr Mashinsky withdrew about US$10 million in cryptocurrency over the course of May, the filing shows. Mr Leon withdrew about US$7 million; net of deposits, his withdrawals amounted to about US$3.1 million, the documents show. The calculations include withdrawals by entities and people related to the executives, as designated by Celsius advisers.

Mr Goldstein withdrew around US$13 million. Lawyers for Mr Goldstein told Bloomberg that net of deposits, the withdrawals attributed to the CTO and related parties totalled about US$559,000.

A Celsius representative did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment. Neither Mr Mashinsky nor Mr Leon returned multiple

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October 10, 2022 by ATTORNEY
May 2023
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