Bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX has been linked to high-profile networker Michael Kieves and his co-owned company K5 Global, who were contacted by Sam Bankman-Fried, according to a court on June 22. filed a complaint in court seeking recovery of $700 million. filing.
FTX claims that founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) pushed the deal to leverage Kyves’ high-value network to increase his political and social clout. Bankman-Fried stepped down as CEO of FTX in November 2022 and was replaced by John J. Ray III.
Relationship between SBF, Kaibus, and Baum
FTX described Bankman-Fried as the “debauchery” of Kyves and co-founder Brian Baum.
Kives and Baum are co-founders of K5 Global, an investment and development company. Kyves has represented or worked with several celebrities and power brokers, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Katy Perry, Mikhail Gorbachev, Warren Buffett, and both Bill and Hillary Clinton. I have some strong connections that I have been working with. K5 Global holds stakes in SpaceX, Airbnb, 818 Tequila and others.
The lawsuit alleges that the K5 and FTX entities had a “very unconventional and deeply entwined relationship” with Kaibus and Baum, with Baum “regularly advising them.”[ed]Bankman-Fried joined the company’s FTX Slack channel to discuss investment strategy.
The complaint also says Bankman-Fried is “probably the most connected person I’ve ever met” with Kyves and is a “one-stop-shop” for political ties and celebrity partnerships. said it was.
Additionally, the filing alleges that Bankman-Fried attended a Kyves-sponsored social event in 2022 attended by “former presidential candidates, top actors and musicians, reality TV stars, and multiple billionaires.” ing.
While FTX executives questioned whether Baum was acting in FTX’s best interests, Bankman-Fried reportedly described the relationship as “complex, marginal and opaque.”
In the lawsuit, when FTX was on the brink of collapse, Kyves and Baum worked behind the scenes, contacting various billionaires, private equity firms and financiers on Bankman-Fried’s behalf. claimed to be.
“When Bankman-Fried’s fraud scheme began to fall apart, Kyves and Baum worked behind the scenes with Bankman-Fried on a strategy to find someone to bail out FTX Group (and protect their golden goose). was erected.”
$700 million
According to the complaint, Bankman-Fried made a total of $700 million to K5 Global affiliates without performing any due diligence on its supposed “investment” in Alameda Research, a cryptocurrency trading firm affiliated with FTX. He told me to send him dollars.
“Bankman-Fried directed plaintiffs to make a series of wire transfers totaling $700 million to facilitate the K5 and Mount Olympus transactions.”
These deals were allegedly disguised as being from shell firms SGN Albany and Mount Olympus Capital.
“Plaintiff Alameda Ventures LLC had no ownership interest in any of these entities, and plaintiff Alameda Research owned only approximately 8% of SGN Albany LLC.”
FTX alleges Bankman-Fried pursued the deal to increase his political and social influence and to defraud FTX customers. The deal netted Kaibus and Baum a hefty $125 million each.
“Bankman-Fried pursued the K5 and Mount Olympus transactions to increase its political and social influence. bluntly agreed to invest billions of dollars using the gold of the 1980s, and made personal gains by overpaying Defendants Kyves and Baum by $125 million each as part of the K5 deal. I accepted.”
In addition, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, companies under Bankman-Fried invested $214 million to buy a minority stake in a celebrity-backed tequila brand worth $2.94 million in assets. invested.
