Sam Bankman-Fried wants to hold Robinhood shares, pay lawyers

The former FTX CEO, currently out on bail awaiting trial, is fighting for Robinhood shares claimed by both FTX and BlockFi to pay legal fees.

On Dec. 28, during a court hearing, Judge Michael Kaplan agreed to consider BlockFi’s request to transfer 56 million Robinhood market shares, valued at $430 million, to a neutral broker currently owned by Sam Bankman-Fried’s firm, Emergent Fidelity Company. The session will be held on Jan. 9.

Related: Robinhood shares may move to a neutral broker

FTX’s new CEO, John Ray III, claimed Emergent Fidelity Company only nominally owned those shares. After the bankruptcy case is finished, those shares should be fairly divided among FTX creditors. Liquidators in the Bahamas also support this decision.

Yet, Sam Bankman-Fried has another point of view. His representatives filed a motion on Jan. 5, claiming Robinhood shares were legitimately bought with borrowed funds from Alameda Research, with the loan being documented. BlockFi filed an opposing motion, saying:

The principle underlying the Motion is, “what’s mine is mine, and what’s yours ismine too.” The FTX Debtors admit that they do not possess the Shares, documents show transfersof the Shares to a non-debtor (Emergent), publicly filed documents show the Shares belonged Emergent at the time they were pledged to BlockFi, and BlockFi has already filed the Emergent Lawsuit regarding the Shares in its bankruptcy case.

Related: BlockFi sues SBF over Robinhood shares

Sam Bankman-Fried’s motion continues with the statement:

It is improper for the FTX Debtors to ask the Court to simply assume that everything Mr. Bankman-Fried ever touched is presumptively fraudulentю Mr. Bankman-Fried requires some of these funds to pay for his criminal defense.

As a reminder, Sam Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to all charges on Jan. 3.

Related: SBF pleads not guilty