FTX filing shows company bought yacht for former co-CEO Sam Trabucco

A recent filing from the FTX debtors, led by CEO John Ray III, revealed how the executives of Alameda Research, the trading firm primarily owned by former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, benefitted from personal cash transfers of company funds.

Included within the list were over $900 million in transfers to Sam Bankman-Fried labeled simply as “Cash Payment,” $15.5 million in cash transfers, and a single $3.5 million transfer to ex-Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison.

The list also showed a $2.5 million payout to the American Yacht Group for ex-Alameda co-CEO Samuel Trabucco. The trader said he had recently bought a boat when he announced his resignation from the company a few months before it collapsed. "I hope he has a great time on his boat!" said Ellison at the time.

Other Alameda staff mentioned in the documents include co-founder Gary Wang and former engineering director Nishad Singh, who have both plead guilty and are expected to testify against Bankman-Fried as well as former FTX co-CEO Ryan Salame, who is not expected to testify.

Alameda’s financial woes

Justice department prosecutors have alleged that Sam Bankman-Fried “misappropriated and embezzled FTX customer deposits” and used the billions in funds for a variety of purposes including to enrich himself, make political donations, and “to pay for Alameda's operating costs.”

Alameda Research, owned 90% by Bankman-Fried and 10% by Wang, was run by co-CEOs Ellison and Trabucco until the latter stepped down publicly in August 2022. Trabucco, who has not faced any criminal charges, has yet to speak publicly following the collapse.