FTX alleges former exec used ‘hush money’ to silence whistleblowers

“Friedberg presumably made “hush money” payments to two possible whistleblowers to stop them from leaking information about “regulative concerns” and the declared close ties in between FTX and Alameda.In one alleged incident, Friedberg retained the lawyer of a whistleblower after he paid them “therefore buying or otherwise ensuring their silence,” the fit reads.In the 40-page filing, FTX released 11 civil charges that, among other claims, declared Friedberg breached his legal duties and authorized a series of deceptive transfers and “loans” to other previous FTX execs.According to the suit, Friedbergs 22-month stint at the exchange saw him offered a $300,000 wage, a finalizing perk of $1.4 million, a different $3 million money benefit, an 8% equity in FTX US and crypto “worth 10s of millions”– all of which FTX is looking for to claw back.Some parts of the grievance, specifically those pertaining to the quantities the whistleblowers were paid, are redacted.An example of a redacted area of the fit relating to one of the whistleblowers. Source: KrollThe former staff member also declared “information regarding business fundraising and various projects were divulged openly” on Slack which they declared allowed “all workers present to make trades on the information prior to public announcements.”Friedberg apparently got in touch with the law company for Whistleblower-1 after the settlement and signed an agreement that saw the firm retained for “more than $200,000 per month for five years,” even though there was “no authentic requirement” for the services, the suit claimed.In another declared circumstances, Friedberg supposedly fired a lawyer working for Alameda dubbed “Whistleblower-2” after they “became worried about governance and regulatory issues” within the business.The individual worked at Alameda for less than three months, FTX claimed, however they still got a severance plan– which was redacted in the filing.Related: Realtor may have accepted $3M for SBF-linked house in Washington DCA June 26 report by FTX restructuring chief John Ray declared an unnamed senior attorney “covered and facilitated up” the comingling of consumer funds.The exact same day, The Wall Street Journal reported the unnamed lawyer was Daniel Friedberg, citing individuals familiar with the matter.Friedberg was likewise called as an individual who provided information to private investigators with the U.S. Attorneys office.Additionally, a class action claim versus celebs who supposedly promoted FTX also said Friedberg provided proof that potentially rebuts crucial defenses made by some of the defendants.Friedberg could not be immediately gotten in touch with for comment.Magazine: $3.4 B of Bitcoin in a popcorn tin– The Silk Road hackers storyUpdate (June 28, 4:50 am UTC): This article has actually been updated with more information from the filing.