FTX Sues SkyBridge and Scaramucci to Recover $100M in Bankruptcy Assets

• FTX sues SkyBridge Capital and Scaramucci, seeking over $100 million in asset recovery.  
• FTX lawyers highlight questionable investments, including a $45M stake in SkyBridge.  
• SkyBridge allegedly breached agreements by selling assets without FTX’s consent in 2023.

FTX’s bankruptcy team has filed a lawsuit against SkyBridge Capital and its founder, Anthony Scaramucci, aiming to recover over $100 million linked to pre-collapse transactions between SkyBridge and former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. 

The complaint, filed on November 8, details a series of high-value deals between the two companies and claims that some transactions were financially unsound and misaligned with FTX’s strategic interests.

The dispute centers on a series of investments FTX made in SkyBridge, beginning with a $12 million sponsorship of Scaramucci’s SALT conference in early 2022. 

In March, Alameda Research, FTX’s trading arm, invested another $10 million into SkyBridge’s Coin Fund, marking the second significant capital outlay from FTX to SkyBridge. By September 2022, the partnership deepened with a $45 million transaction in which FTX acquired a 30% stake in SkyBridge’s management firms. 

According to the court filing, FTX attorneys assert that the transaction lacked a clear financial rationale, arguing that FTX could have acquired similar crypto assets directly at a lower cost than through the partnership with SkyBridge.

FTX’s legal team highlighted concerns raised internally by FTX employees at the time, who questioned the viability of allocating substantial funds to SkyBridge. Staff members reportedly pointed out that SkyBridge, though experienced in traditional finance, had limited expertise in cryptocurrency compared to FTX’s own Alameda Research.

Additionally, the lawsuit accuses SkyBridge of breaching contractual terms by selling certain assets in 2023 without FTX’s approval. FTX claims these unauthorized sales violated key clauses in the partnership agreement.

The assets in question include Bitcoin and Solana holdings, which FTX argues could have been retained, especially as they have since appreciated significantly.

The filing estimates that the current value of these assets stands at approximately $120 million, double their worth at the time of the alleged breach.