- FTX account holders are offering up to a million dollars to have their KYC falsified in order to facilitate withdrawals
- FTX’s assets have been frozen by the Securities Commission of The Bahamas, but residents seem able to withdraw
- Accounts are also being bought up for 10% of their value by those who can withdraw
FTX account holders with millions of dollars stuck on the platform are offering employees up to one million dollars to change their residency to the Bahamas, following an edict from the country’s securities commissioner to freeze all assets. This incredible twist in the FTX tale emerged overnight as Twitter users boldly asked for help in getting their funds off the exchange, asking FTX employees to break the law in return for cash to help them do so.
FTX Assets Frozen
The need for such lengths was kicked into action by the Securities Commission of The Bahamas, who yesterday announced that all funds belonging to FTX and “related parties” had been frozen, with no funds being allowed to leave the country without the approval of a Supreme Court-appointed liquidator. At the same time, the regulator suspended FTX’s registration in the country.
The SCB also stripped powers from FTX directors and said that it determined the “prudent course of action” would be to put FTX into a provisional liquidation “to preserve assets and stabilize the company.” The Bahamian Supreme Court also appointed a provisional liquidator, adding that “no assets of FDM, client assets, or trust assets held by FDM can be transferred, assigned, or otherwise dealt with, without the written approval of the provisional liquidator.”
Residents Find Loophole
However, there seems to be a loophole in the fund freezing, with Bahamian residents seemingly able to bypass these restrictions, at least for the time being. This has led to a black market in identity tampering, with some large scale users offering up to $1 million to have their residencies changed on the system so they can get their funds out:
Any FTX employees willing to change my accounts country of residence to Bahamas to facilitate withdrawal I am offering $1 million and unlimited legal fees
DM me (serious inquiries only)
— Austerity Sucks (@austerity_sucks) November 11, 2022
It appears that the ploy is working, with some able to achieve withdrawals despite not being Bahamian residents:
Not sure this was the best decision however pic.twitter.com/LvuktwMzAJ
— CryptoNoddy (@Crypto_Noddy) November 11, 2022
Another black market was also seemingly being established where individuals who were able to withdraw from FTX were buying accounts for 10% of their value:
Hours ago, Algod tweeted out a Telegram group where his partner was offering to purchase FTX balances for $0.10 on the dollar.
I wonder why.
The links have since been scrubbed. https://t.co/ps3LHDzZCm pic.twitter.com/efPX2e6r8m
— FatMan (@FatManTerra) November 11, 2022
Desperate times call for desperate measures, but desperate measures often lead to bad decisions.
