FTX sues Voyager Digital in an attempt to claw back $445.8m in loan repayments

FTX, the bankrupt crypto exchange formerly led by Sam Bankman-Fried, recently filed a lawsuit against a crypto lender called Voyager Digital. The failed crypto exchange got into massive debt upon collapsing and is now trying to find a way to pay off what it owes. Meanwhile, it just so happens that there is a possibility of it clawing back $445.8 million, which it paid as part of loan repayments to Voyager Digital.

FTX’s new lawsuit wants Voyager to return the money

Voyager and FTX are both failed businesses at this point, and they both filed for bankruptcy in 2022. Crypto winter was harsh to both of these firms, as well as to many others. While FTX collapsed in November 2022, Voyager actually filed for bankruptcy four months before that, in July of the same year.

At the time, Voyager demanded that FTX repays all outstanding loans, which also included repayments from FTX’s affiliate hedge fund, Alameda Research. According to FTX’s lawsuit, the company paid $243.8 million on Alameda’s behalf in September and another $193.9 million in October. Before that, in August of the same year, FTX made a $3.2 million interest payment, as the court filings say.

However, according to the law, these loan payments were made close enough to FTX’s own bankruptcy filing for the company to be able to claw them back. If it managed to get the money back, it would be able to repay its other creditors.

FTX’s situation turned over night, and the exchange went from being one of the biggest and most respected crypto platforms to a failed business that it is today. More than that, a number of its top executives, including the CEO of the exchange, and also the CEO of Alameda, got indicted on fraud charges.

Alameda’s CEO, Caroline Ellison, pleaded guilty, while Sam Bankman-Fried denied the allegations, and is now awaiting a trial, scheduled for October.

FTX explains that Voyager and Alameda worked together

When things first went bad for Voyager, FTX was seemingly performing quite well. Not only that, it presented itself as a white knight who can help stabilize the crypto industry. It even offered to buy Voyager’s platform as part of its bankruptcy auction. However, come November, FTX suddenly filed for bankruptcy as well.

In the new court filing, FTX acknowledged the accusations against Alameda, which say that it raided FTX customer assets in order to cover the cost of risky borrowing and tending. Surprisingly, the exchange also noted that Voyager and a number of other lenders were complicit in Alameda’s conduct.

FTX noted that Voyager’s business model was that of a feeder fund and that it solicited retail investors and invested their money with little to no due diligence when it came to the assets it used.