FTX Spent Over $100M in Paychecks to Legal and Consulting Firms 

The beleaguered crypto exchange firm, FTX, pays hefty funds for consulting and legal advice every month. Recent court filings between April 28 and May 2 highlight that the crypto firm was billed 36.4 million USD for March. The bill was collected from five firms, including leading law and consultancy firms. For the first three months or Q1 2023, the company’s overall expenditure to pay these firms totals over 100 million USD.

These top firms include law firms Sullivan & Cromwell, Quinn Emmanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, and Landis Rath & Cobb. Consulting firms Alvarez & Marsal and AlixPartners are also among the payees of FTX. 

Since the beginning of this month, the Bahamian crypto exchange has been billed for 103.1 million USD by the aforementioned companies. In January, it was invoiced 34.2 million USD, 32.5 million USD in February, and most of all these months, it was to be paid in March of 36.4 million USD. 

Among these firms, the most paid one was the NY-based legal firm, Sullivan & Cromwell. FTX was reportedly billed to pay fees and expenses worth 14.1 million USD for March. The firm took 44.4 million USD from the crypto company for the whole first quarter. 

The second biggest paycheck of more than 13.8 million USD was received by the US consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal. It also assisted in restructuring procedures of FTX since its bankruptcy filing in November last year. The firm was paid more than 10 million USD consistently throughout the past months. 

Quinn Emmanuel Urquhart & Sullivan billed FTX 3.19 million USD for March and 7.3 million USD for the first quarter. Then comes another prominent law firm, Landis Rath & Cobb, which paid 644K USD and 1.9 million USD during March and the first three months. The firm acted as the special counsel for the bankrupt crypto firm and reported to go through the courtroom court hearings and litigation procedures. 

Lastly, the forensics consulting firm, AlixPartners, was paid 4.51 million USD in March, its biggest invoice since working for FTX. And for the whole quarter, it charged approx 10.2 million USD. The firm analyzed the products linked with the exchange platform’s decentralized finance offerings and tokens under its possession. 

FTX filed for bankruptcy under the Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Founder and then chief executive officer Sam-Bankman Fried had to step down from his position, and John Ray III was appointed as the CEO and restructuring officer of the collapsed crypto exchange firm. 

Nancy J. Allen

Nancy J. Allen is a crypto enthusiast, with a major in macroeconomics and minor in business statistics. She believes that cryptocurrencies inspire people to be their own banks, and step aside from traditional monetary exchange systems. She is also intrigued by blockchain technology and its functioning. She frequently researches, and posts content on the top altcoins, their theoretical working principles and technical price predictions.