FTX Sues Voyager Digital to recover $446 Million in Debt Payments Due in 2022

Bankrupt crypt exchange FTX filed a lawsuit against cryptocurrency lender Voyager Digital on Monday, seeking to recover $445.8 million in loan repayments made by FTX before its bankruptcy filing in November 2022.

FTX and Voyager both filed for bankruptcy in 2022 in response to the collapse of cryptocurrency markets, however Voyager's petition came four months before FTX.

Voyager sought repayment of all outstanding loans to FTX and its affiliated hedge fund Alameda Research after filing for bankruptcy in July.

FTX stated in a court filing that it paid Voyager $248.8 million in September and $193.9 million in October on behalf of Alameda. In August, FTX also made a $3.2 million interest payment, according to court documents.

According to FTX's complaint, because these loan payments were made so close to FTX's own bankruptcy filing, they are eligible to be recouped and perhaps used to reimburse other FTX creditors.

FTX, previously one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, shocked the industry in November by declaring bankruptcy, leaving an estimated 9 million customers and other investors with losses in the billions of dollars.

Its inventor, Sam Bankman-Fried, has been indicted on fraud charges, and numerous top executives, including CEO Caroline Ellison of Alameda Research, have pleaded guilty to fraud. The trial of Bankman-Fried, who has denied wrongdoing, is slated for October.

Initially, FTX appeared capable of weathering the storm that brought down Voyager and other crypto corporations in the summer of 2022, touting itself as a "white knight" who could steady the tumbling crypto markets. FTX sought to acquire Voyager's platform in a bankruptcy auction, but the deal fell through when FTX collapsed in November.

FTX acknowledged in a court statement on Monday that Alameda allegedly seized FTX client assets to support its imprudent borrowing and lending. However, it was stated that Voyager and other crypto lenders were implicated in Alameda's behavior by "knowingly or negligently" directing their clients' money into Alameda.

FTX stated that Voyager's business model was that of a feeder fund. It sought individual investors and placed their money in bitcoin investment funds such as Alameda and Three Arrows Capital with little or no due research.

Three Arrows Capital also declared bankruptcy in 2022, and its founders have refused to comply with court-appointed liquidators who are attempting to reclaim customer assets.