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FTX has reportedly hired a team of forensic investigators to trace billions of dollars missing in customer funds

The logo of FTX is seen at the entrance of the FTX Arena in Miami, Florida, U.S., November 12, 2022.
The logo of FTX is seen at the entrance of the FTX Arena in Miami, Florida, US.Marco Bello/Reuters
  • FTX has hired forensic investigators to find billions of dollars in lost customer money.

  • The move comes after as much as $2 billion in client funds vanished following FTX's implosion.

  • The forensic team will carry out "asset tracing" measures to recover the funds, per the WSJ.

The new management at FTX has hired forensic investigators to trace billions of dollars in customer funds that went missing following the implosion of the crypto exchange, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The company employed a team from financial advisory company AlixPartners, led by Matt Jacques, a former chief accountant for the Securities and Exchange Commission's enforcement department.

Up to $2 billion in customer funds has reportedly vanished following FTX's collapse, Reuters reported, after its ex-CEO Sam Bankman-Fried quietly transferred $10 billion from FTX to its sister firm Alameda Research.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the forensics firm will conduct "asset-tracing" to recover the missing funds.

FTX did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

The failure of the crypto exchange stunned digital asset markets last month, and was triggered by a severe liquidity crunch that saw Bankman-Fried in need of an $8 billion cash injection. Shortly after, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on November 11 and Bankman-Fried resigned as CEO on the same day.

In the latest news on the FTX saga, Bankman-Fried is currently under investigation by US federal prosecutors for market manipulation, according to the New York Times. The probe was launched to identify whether he controlled the prices of two cryptocurrencies including TerraUSD and Luna to the advantage of FTX and Alameda Research.

Bankman-Fried however told The Times he was not aware of any market manipulation.

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