Share this article
Sign Up
- Back to menuPrices
- Back to menuResearch
- Back to menu
- Back to menu
- Back to menu
- Back to menu
- Back to menuWebinars
FTX Seeks to Remove Turkish Units From Bankruptcy Case
The U.S. estate of the bankrupt crypto exchange doesn’t reckon the Turkish authorities will cooperate after they seized local assets in November.
Crypto exchange FTX is seeking to remove its Turkish units from the scope of its bankruptcy case, saying in a Friday court filing that Turkish authorities are unlikely to follow instructions from U.S. courts.
FTX filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 11 in Delaware, and its new owners are attempting to unwind the affairs of as many as 134 entities across the world.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Within days of the bankruptcy filing, Turkish law enforcement announced a probe into FTX's activities, and on Nov. 23, authorities ordered the seizure of virtually all FTX's assets in Turkey, making it fruitless to include them in wider restructuring plans, the new U.S. management said.
“The orders entered by this court do not have legal or practical effect in Turkey, and the debtors have no reason to believe that the Turkish government will comply with this court’s orders,” FTX said in the filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. “As a result, the debtors are unable to exercise sufficient control over the affairs of the Turkish debtors in order to comply with their duties under the bankruptcy code.”
The request concerns FTX Turkey, a local exchange 80% owned by parent company FTX Trading Ltd. and SNG Investments, a wholly owned subsidiary of FTX’s affiliated trading arm, Alameda Research. Both are described in the filing as “not strategic” within the corporate group, with assets and activities largely confined to Turkey.
The parent company can still take action under Turkish law, and some Turkish creditors have already started filing private claims in local courts, the filing said. CoinDesk has previously reported that staff often put their paychecks into the company because of their distrust of local banks and depreciation of the lira.
A hearing on the issue is schedule for March 8. Non-U.S. creditors of the exchange, fearing they may be overlooked by U.S. proceedings, have sought to ensure their representation in the case by forming a committee that can intervene on their behalf.
Read more: Turkish Authorities Order Seizure of 'Suspicious' FTX Assets
Jack Schickler
Jack Schickler was a CoinDesk reporter focused on crypto regulations, based in Brussels, Belgium. He previously wrote about financial regulation for news site MLex, before which he was a speechwriter and policy analyst at the European Commission and the U.K. Treasury. He doesn’t own any crypto.
More For You
Crypto Industry Asks President Trump to Stop JPMorgan’s 'Punitive Tax' on Data Access
A coalition of fintech and crypto trade groups is urging the White House to defend open banking and stop JPMorgan from charging fees to access customer data.
What to know:
- Ten major fintech and crypto trade associations have urged President Trump to stop big banks from imposing fees that could hinder innovation and competition.
- JPMorgan's plan to charge for access to consumer banking data may debank millions and threaten the adoption of stablecoins and self-custody wallets.
- The CFPB's open banking rule, which mandates free consumer access to bank data, is under threat as banks have sued to block it, and the CFPB has requested its vacatur.
