Alameda to Be Repaid $53M Deltec Loan, Delaware Bankruptcy Court Rules

FTX’s trading arm Alameda Research should be repaid nearly $53 million for a loan originally made in 2021 to Deltec International Group, a Delaware-based bankruptcy court judge ruled on Wednesday.

The federal court is attempting to unwind the affairs of the FTX after it filed for bankruptcy protection in November, complicated by an apparent lack of reliable records kept by the crypto exchange.

Deltec, a Cayman Islands company whose banking arm serves stablecoin company Tether, “shall and is hereby authorized and directed to pay to Alameda an amount equal to USD 52,859,644,” plus $10,538 in interest per day, bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey said in an order.

The original payment of 50 million in USDT, Tether’s stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, was made from Alameda to Deltec in 2021. The contract was approved by FTX Digital Markets' co-Chief Executive Officer Ryan Salame, purporting to act as director of a further company called Norton Hall, though, according to earlier court filings by FTX, he never held such a position and wasn’t authorized to act as such.

John J. Ray III, a restructuring expert who took over as FTX CEO in November, has repeatedly bemoaned poor governance prior to his tenure. In a Sunday filing, Ray said that Alameda had fabricated portfolio reports, and that records of loans and other financial transactions made by the company were “inaccurate, contradictory or missing entirely.”

A spokesperson for Deltec told CoinDesk it had been attempting to settle the loan since December, but had needed guidance on exactly which entity to repay given uncertainties in the paperwork.

"With the judge’s ruling, we will now move forward with repayment of the full amount, and are pleased to be able to finally conclude this matter," the spokersperson said.

Read more: Former FTX US President Reportedly Quit After ‘Protracted Disagreement’ With Bankman-Fried

UPDATE (April 13, 2023, 07:18 UTC): adds comment from Deltec.