The bankrupt exchange's management asked for the ruling after saying information about the finances of Sam Bankman-Fried and other former top FTX executives has not been provided.
FTX's new managers have received permission to subpoena financial information from former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and several family members, as well as other former executives of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange.
Both the FTX Group, as the collection of companies is now called, and the Committee of Unsecured Creditors complained last month that few if any core insiders have been willing to meet with the bankruptcy lawyers to turn over details of their assets and any funds that they or others may have received from the company.
These are needed immediately, the court was told, in order to "supplement the Debtors' limited and untrustworthy financial records, to locate and secure estate assets, and to position themselves to recover misappropriated and stolen assets."
Among the wide variety of documents sought are details of the eight insiders' personal assets and any assets they ever received from the company, as well as communications about their and the firm's assets.
Being Unhelpful
While some insiders are cooperating, others are not even agreeing to set up meetings, FTX said.
But, the subpoena request claimed, both had said they would not turn over any information.
The original motion requesting the subpoenas made much of Sam Bankman-Fried's repeated declaration in interviews and on social media that "he is 'looking to be helpful anywhere [he] can with any of the global entities that would want [his] help,' and that he wants to be 'helpful where [he] can to regulators [and] administrators . . . who are working to help FTX's customers [to] bring a lot more value to those customers.'" It said:
"Despite these statements, Mr. Samuel Bankman-Fried has not responded to or complied with the Requests on a voluntary basis."
Bankruptcy Costs Spiraling
But, the costs of the current bankruptcy attorneys and managers, including John Ray III, are also under scrutiny. Initial bills revealed in court filings have already topped $20 million.
That request was made by Voyager's creditors and the U.S. Trustee's office, an arm of the DoJ tasked with ensuring the full story of major bankruptcies is investigated and revealed publically.
Whether the U.S. Trustee attorney sparring with FTX will ask for the same limited examiner — perhaps as a foot in the door — remains to be seen.