Lawyers representing the defunct FTX exchange have received permission to subpoena the company’s co-founders Sam Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang, ex-Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison, Bankman-Fried’s parents, and his brother Gabriel.
This development is according to a court order filed on Wednesday.
The company’s legal team asked for permission to send subpoenas to the group, which it calls the “Insiders,” on January 25, saying that some within Bankman-Fried’s inner circle have been cooperating with the restructuring team’s efforts to recover assets.
“Key questions remain, however, concerning numerous aspects of the Debtors’ finances and transactions,” attorney Kimberly Brown wrote in the January 25 motion. It also names Nishad Singh, ex-chief technology officer at FTX, and Constance Wang, who was formerly a co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets with Ryan Salame, saying they have not been cooperating with efforts to recover customer funds.
Meanwhile, Ellison and Wang have pleaded guilty to criminal and civil charges brought against them by the Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission, and Commodities Future Trading Commission.
The pair have been cooperating with an ongoing investigation led by attorneys in the Southern District of New York.
The exchange collapsed in November 2022, affecting several other protocols and intensifying the crypto winter.