A U.S. court has ordered bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX to pay $12.7 billion in relief to customers, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced in a statement on Thursday.
In March, FTX founder Sam Bankman Freed was sentenced to 25 years in prison for stealing $8 billion from clients.
“The order requires FTX to pay $8.7 billion in restitution and $4 billion in disgorgement, with the funds to be used to further compensate victims as a result of the massive fraud scheme orchestrated by Samuel Bankman Freed,” the committee said.
FTX had previously committed to a bankruptcy liquidation in late 2022 to repay customers whose deposits were locked in the event of the crypto exchange’s collapse.
FTX says that customers will be entitled to recover 100% of their claims against the company, based on the value of their accounts at the time the company filed for bankruptcy.
The settlement with the CFTC removes potential impediments to repayment and ensures that the government’s lawsuit against FTX will not reduce the funds available to FTX customers.
