Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX is asking the court to greenlight a plan that could potentially deny billions in creditor repayments to users in 49 countries where crypto faces legal restrictions.
This could disproportionately impact Chinese users, who reportedly represent 82% of the affected claim value.
Navigating Legal Minefields in Restricted Jurisdictions
The FTX proposal, detailed in a July 2 court filing, is seeking authorization to designate 49 countries, including China, Russia, Afghanistan, and Ukraine, as “Potentially Restricted Jurisdictions.”
While claims from these regions will be automatically treated as “disputed,” the FTX Trust will first seek legal opinions for each jurisdiction, and in cases where distribution is deemed legally permissible, payouts will proceed.
However, where legal advice indicates distributing funds would violate local laws, the Trust will issue a formal notice to affected creditors. These users will then have a 45-day window to file a formal objection, including submitting it to a U.S. court.
According to the document, if a jurisdiction is ultimately deemed “restricted” and a claimant remains a resident there when repayments are processed, their funds and any associated interest “shall be immediately forfeited and revert to the FTX Recovery Trust.”
The submission has triggered significant backlash from affected users. While the FTX Recovery Trust is positioning it as a legal compliance issue, others argue it raises serious ethical questions.
“FTX accepted users from China when things were fine,” wrote one X user. “Now denying their claims entirely because of ‘restricted jurisdiction’ feels unfair.”
He described creditors from the beleaguered countries as “victims” who still deserved to be repaid.
Another Chinese claimant, going by the username “Will,” also argued forcefully against the rationale:
“While mainland China does not support cryptocurrency trading, residents… are allowed to hold cryptocurrencies… The claims process uses USD for settlement… they are allowed to hold USD overseas. So why isn’t wire transfer settlement supported?”
Meanwhile, others expressed despair, with one user asking, “Is there anything that could be done? Or they just steal all of the money?” FTX creditor advocate Sunil suggested that selling or transferring the claim to someone in an allowed jurisdiction might be a potential workaround.
Ongoing Repayments
While the controversy rages on, other creditors have been making progress with their payments. As per a July 1 update, those with claims under $50,000 have already received 120% payouts, while larger claimants received 72.5% in May. The remaining 27.5% is expected through distributions extending into 2027.
Meanwhile, the fallout from FTX’s 2022 collapse continues to resolve elsewhere, with most celebrity endorsement lawsuits dismissed, though retired NBA star Shaquille O’Neal settled for $1.8 million.
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