The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

FTX’s liquidators had raised $38.2m from selling-off eight of the collapsed crypto exchange’s Bahamian properties by early December 2025, it has been revealed, with “pending deals” and the appraised value of others set to generate a potential further $155.8m.

Brian Simms KC, the Lennox Paton senior partner, and the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) accounting duo of Kevin Cambridge and Peter Greaves, in their latest report to the Supreme Court as liquidators for FTX Digital Markets, the exchange’s Bahamian subsidiary, revealed they are making headway in disposing of the 37-strong Bahamian property empire acquired by its disgraced and jailed founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, and his associates.

Apart from the deals that have closed, the FTX liquidator trio revealed that a further four sales worth a combined $17.2m are due to be completed during the current 2026 first quarter. And the remaining 25 properties have been appraised at a collective $138.6m, meaning that - if the full appraised values are realised on all - a total $194m could be generated by liquidating FTX’s Bahamian real estate portfolio for the benefit of creditors and former clients.

“As at the date of this report, eight property sales have been completed for a combined gross sales price of $38.2m,” Messrs Simms, Cambridge and Greaves wrote in their second Supreme Court report as official FTX Digital Markets liquidators.

“An additional four properties are pending sale for a combined gross sales price of $17.2m, which are expected to complete by the first quarter of 2026. The aggregate appraised value of 25 properties not yet contracted for sale is $138.6m.” The fact these are gross values suggests that they are not the net sums creditors will recover, as there may well be closing costs - such as attorney fees and realtor commissions - that have yet to be paid out.

Still, should the four “pending” deals close at the presently-stated combined prices and on the suggested timeline, the FTX Digital Markets liquidators will have recovered a combined $55.4m from the crypto exchange’s real estate investments on behalf of creditors by end-March 2026.

More than half of the closed sales to-date involve properties at Albany, the high-end southwestern New Providence community founded by Lyford Cay-based billionaire Joe Lewis and his golfing friends, Tiger Woods and Ernie Els, and which housed the residences used by Mr Bankman-Fried and his closest and most senior executives.

Sales of units in Albany’s Orchid, Charles, Cube and Gemini complexes have raised $3.6m, $7m, $3.9m and $3.6m, respectively. A further $10.5m was generated by the sale of Albany’s Lot 44, resulting in the FTX Digital Markets liquidators realising some $28.5m from closing deals at the south-western New Providence community to-date.

Of the other completed disposals, two involved units at the Goldwynn development on Goodman’s Bay, which sold for $1.9m apiece, with the final deal labelled “formerly Bayside - Pictet” - likely a reference to the former Pictet Bank & Trust property at Bayside Executive Park on West Bay Street, which raised $5.9m

As for the “pending” sales, two involve units at Albany in the Honeycomb and Charles complexes featuring gross sales prices of $4.5m and $10.2m respectively. The liquidators’ report puts the latter’s “net sales price” at $9m. Meanwhile, the final two deals set for completion during the 2026 first quarter are the sale of Pineapple House on Western Road for $1.7m (net price of $1.5m) and a Blake Road property valued at $0.9m.

However, even if the 37 properties fetch at or near the $194m figure once all sales are closed, the latter valuation will still be some way short of both the “approximately $222m” aggregate purchase price that Mr Bankman-Fried and his associates paid to acquire them in the first place in 2021 and 2022.

That was disclosed in early 2024 by John Ray, head of the 134 non-Bahamian FTX properties in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, after he and the Bahamian liquidators settled their year-long jurisdictional dispute. His revelations also suggest that the $194m, if realised from the disposals, is also significantly less than the $256.291m loaned by FTX Digital Markets to FTX Property Holdings, the vehicle that bought all the Bahamian real estate.

Tribune Business had been told that the FTX Digital Markets liquidators have been releasing the Bahamian properties for sale gradually, rather than all or a batch at the same time, in a bid to avoid flooding or over-saturating the high-end real estate market in a manner that could depress the price purchasers are willing to pay.

This was confirmed by their Supreme Court report, which stated: “The joint official liquidators are gradually releasing properties in a conscious effort not to flood the market in an effort to maximise recoveries.” However, they added that their joint effort with Mr Ray to recover Bahamas real estate that was acquired by FTX - but then conveyed to the exchange’s former individual employees - had generated no recoveries over the 12 months to early-December 2025.

“As part of the GSA (global settlement agreement), the joint official liquidators and the FTX Recovery Trust have been working together to recover further real estate assets located in The Bahamas that were paid for by FTX but conveyed to individual former employees. Recovery efforts remain in progress for properties conveyed to insiders. However, no further assets have been recovered during this report period,” the FTX Digital Markets trio said.

And several FTX real estate assets, particularly those at the Ocean Terrace property on West Bay Street just east of Caves Village as well as at Old Fort Bay, remain mired in legal disputes that are disrupting and delaying their sale and disposal. Tribune Business reported last year that the assets involved were valued at around $30m.

“Since the last report, the joint official liquidators continue to oppose allegations made by two claimants in separate actions before the Supreme Court of The Bahamas which seek to interfere with the title of the Ocean Terrace property. The claimants seek similar and/or identical relief,” the FTX Digital Markets liquidators added.

“In November 2024 and February 2025, claims were filed against PropCo (FTX Property Holdings) stemming from unfulfilled purchase agreements made in 2008 between Wyndhams Property Bahamas Ltd and Leo International Holding Ltd with a third party. The joint official liquidators have filed applications to strike out these claims.

“PropCo has also been made a defendant to two separate proceedings commenced by third parties each making voluminous allegations including proprietary interests in the Ocean Terrace property. The joint official liquidators consider these claims as unmeritorious and vexatious, and are actively engaged in taking steps to have these proceedings dismissed.”

Tribune Business records show Leo International Holding is a corporate vehicle for Dr Fabrizio Zanaboni, who headed Stellar Energy, the waste-to-energy entity behind a proposal for the New Providence landfall that was at the heart of the Renward Wells Letter of Intent (LOI) saga. Dr Zanaboni has launched legal action in relation to Ocean Terrace before.

Meanwhile, the FTX Digital Markets liquidators said the “adverse claims” relating to Lot 5B at Old Fort Bay “remain under ongoing review”, and they are “taking steps to expeditiously resolve the same and will seek a court order permitting the sale of the property if no formal steps are taken by the party asserting ownership of Lot 5B”. A corporate entity, Burchfield Universal, is asserting that Lot 5B was previously conveyed to it by Old Fort Bay’s developer and that itself - not FTX Property Holdings - is the true owner.

Elsewhere, the Bahamian liquidators disclosed that they have raised some $1.2m by selling-off 50 autos from the failed crypto exchange’s Bahamian vehicle fleet. “The joint official liquidators have continued to advertise for sale the remainder of the fleet of vehicles owned by FTX Digital through consignment with local dealerships,” they added.

“As of the date of this report, the joint official liquidators have realised a total of $1.2m from the disposal of 50 vehicles owned by the company. The joint official liquidators have been assessing options to efficiently realise the sundry chattel assets owned by FTX Digital currently held at FTX Digital’s offices or in rented storage facilities, including computer and office equipment, as well as branded marketing materials and merchandise. The joint official liquidators have taken steps to consolidate the storage requirements and plan to realise the existing assets through to the 2026 first quarter.”

Meanwhile, the settlement with Mr Ray has enabled the Bahamian liquidation trio to focus on the task of processing, adjudicating and validating creditor claims and returning what is rightfully due to FTX’s former clients. Of the 43,000-plus claims submitted in the FTX Digital Markets process, only 424 remain to be adjudicated with another payout set to take place at the 2026 first quarter end.

“A total of 43,202 customers elected into The Bahamas process, of which 99 percent - by number 42,778 - of these claims have been adjudicated to date, with an aggregate agreed claim value of $787.2m. In total, approximately $444.1m has been paid to customer creditors to-date,” the FTX Digital Markets liquidators said.

“The 424 claims pending adjudication as at the date of this report account for balances per FTX Digital’s records of $31.7m, with such claims requiring additional information or evidence from the customer that has not yet been provided…. In the convenience class (customer balance less than $50,000), 28,755 customers have been paid in full and are no longer creditors of the estate.

“A number of claims could not be substantiated and have been rejected…. Remaining convenience class claims not paid are currently disputed or in the process of confirmation. Some 2,786 customers are in the process of submitting or verifying their payment details, and 2,073 customers have had their claims adjudicated and KYC-verified but reside in potentially restricted foreign jurisdictions and therefore cannot currently be included in distributions.”

As for supplier/vendor creditor claims, the FTX Digital Markets liquidators said 15 worth a combined $396.3m have been rejected. Some $88.8m in professional fees related to the liquidation, including $14.7m in legal fees and $74.1m associated with asset recovery, claims processing and administration, were incurred between May 2024 and March 2025 and approved by the Supreme Court and FTX Digital Markets creditors’ committee. A further $5.2m in costs were incurred from dealing with the Bahamian real estate portfolio.