Prosecutors in the United States government’s case against Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried have proposed a court order to sell two private aircraft before the forfeiture proceedings are concluded. The government seeks to prevent the devaluation of the planes, which are tied to FTX and SBF. In October 2023, prosecutors argued that the Bombardier Global and Embraer Legacy aircraft should be forfeited due to their connection to Bankman-Fried’s criminal case.
The exact selling price for the aircraft is unknown, but according to court filings from October 2023, they cost $15.9 million and $12.5 million, respectively. Prosecutors stated that they would reimburse up to $1.8 million for maintenance and upkeep and $183,000 for the delivery of the Legacy, assuming the sale proceeds were sufficient.
Prosecutors have reached an agreement with FTX and related parties to have the Embraer Legacy delivered to a Florida airport. The U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) will then begin the sale proceedings promptly. The USMS already has custody of the Bombardier Global following a warrant issued in February 2023.
These luxury jets are just a few of the assets tied to Bankman-Fried that are subject to forfeiture after his criminal conviction. A filing in March listed additional assets, including Robinhood stock, fiat currency in U.S. dollars, cryptocurrency in Binance and Binance.US accounts, and political contributions made by SBF during his time as FTX CEO. Bankman-Fried and his attorney, Marc Mukasey, did not object to the sale of the aircraft.
Bankman-Fried, the former FTX CEO, was convicted of seven felony counts in November 2023 and is currently in custody awaiting a sentencing hearing on March 28. Prosecutors have recommended a sentence of 40 to 50 years, while his defense lawyers have requested a 6.5-year sentence.
After the collapse of FTX, many are questioning the reliability of crypto exchanges.