- Alameda Research has filed a court case against Waves founder Aleksandr Ivanov and associated companies, claiming asset misappropriation valued at $90 million
- The complaint alleges that Ivanov manipulated Waves and Vires protocols to freeze and convert Alameda’s assets, violating the automatic stay in bankruptcy proceedings
- Alameda seeks the return of assets and damages, accusing Ivanov of orchestrating a fraudulent scheme that locked its funds post-bankruptcy
Alameda Research, FTX’s former hedge fund, has initiated a legal battle against Waves founder Aleksandr Ivanov, accusing him and associated companies of withholding $90 million. Alameda alleges that Ivanov and others illegally retained Alameda’s assets and enacted governance changes to prevent Alameda from withdrawing its funds from the Vires protocol. The filing, in the Delaware Bankruptcy Court, details how these actions not only breach bankruptcy protections but also form part of a broader fraud scheme, allegedly designed to restrict Alameda’s control over its deposited assets.
Asset Freeze and Alleged Fraud
Alameda deposited substantial funds on Vires, a decentralized liquidity platform within the Waves ecosystem, with expectations of secure asset management. However, according to the filing, Ivanov modified Vires’s governance rules to restrict withdrawals, limiting Alameda and other users to minimal daily amounts. The court document alleges that Ivanov’s control over Vires’s decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) allowed him to implement these restrictions unilaterally.
The filing details that Ivanov “promised access but implemented DAO-approved limits that were never lifted,” despite Alameda’s compliance with requests to support the platform. Ivanov, through this control, reportedly froze assets and converted them into Neutrino USD, a stablecoin with diminishing value. According to Alameda’s claim, this conversion stripped them of nearly $80 million in value.
This one is a spicy account of one of the biggest FRAUDS in crypto EVER, that rarely gets talked about in the media, while its authors roam free
How $WAVES , @viresfinance and @sasha35625 Rugged users NOT 1, NOT 2, but SEVEN TIMES on their SCAM Chain, a thread 👇
— Wazz (@WazzCrypto) June 25, 2023
Attempted Extortion Claims
Alameda further alleges that Ivanov attempted to pressure it into supporting the Waves and Vires platforms publicly, which it refused. One of Alameda’s senior traders reportedly described the situation as “gross, holding funds hostage” while seeking “public support for USDN.” Court documents outline Ivanov’s statements suggesting that Alameda’s support would influence whether or not the asset restrictions would be lifted.
In this filing, Alameda seeks an order to recover the frozen assets and demands additional damages for the violation of the automatic stay and conversion of property. The company argues that Ivanov’s governance tactics within Vires have violated bankruptcy law by preventing asset recovery essential to Alameda’s estate.
