Bankruptcy lawyers representing embattled crypto exchange FTX have submitted an invoice for a staggering $38 million for their services. This comes as creditors are seeking the return of their Bitcoin from Grayscale, a crypto asset manager.
FTX has retained the services of three law firms, including Sullivan & Cromwell, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, and Landis Rath & Cobb, who collectively have more than 180 attorneys and over 50 additional staff assigned to the case. According to court documents, Sullivan & Cromwell alone billed for 14,569 hours of work in January, totaling $16.8 million.
In addition to the legal fees, financial services firms Alvarez & Marsal and Perella Weinberg Partners have also been retained to review FTX’s accounts and determine which assets can be sold. Consultancy AlixPartners has been brought in to conduct forensics on DeFi products and FTX token holdings.
Furthermore, FTX CEO John Ray III submitted a bill for $305,565 for the month of February.
In a related development, FTX affiliate Alameda Research has sued Grayscale for at least $250 million to repay creditors. The suit claims that Grayscale has charged “exorbitant management fees” and prevented shareholders from redeeming their shares, and that FTX Debtors are seeking injunctive relief to unlock $9 billion or more in value for shareholders of Grayscale’s Bitcoin and Ethereum Trusts.
The developments come as FTX’s former engineering director, Nishad Singh, pleaded guilty to fraud charges, as the inner circle of CEO Sam Bankman-Fried shrinks.
