Former FTX executive reveals massive amount paid to influencers
Former FTX director of engineering Nishad Singh shared significant information in court regarding Sam Bankman-Fried's expenditures.
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According to a report by Inner City Press, Singh stated that the exchange paid well over 1 billion dollars as a result of deals made with celebrities and influencers. In a spreadsheet he presented, Singh explained the agreements one by one.
Among the agreements made is the 135 million dollar deal FTX signed with the NBA team Miami Heat. As part of the agreement, the name of the Miami Heat's basketball arena was changed to FTX Arena. Following the exchange's bankruptcy, the arena was renamed Kaseya Center.
In the list revealed by Singh, the 28 million dollars paid to NBA star Stephen Curry and the 14 million dollars paid to businessman Kevin O’Leary stood out, along with undisclosed amounts paid to Tom Brady, Gisele Bündchen, and Larry David.
According to Singh, a total of 1.3 billion dollars left the exchange's coffers due to all these agreements.
HE ALSO SPOKE ABOUT INVESTMENTS MADE
Singh also spoke about the investments made in K5 Global, a company owned by Michael Kives and Bryan Baum, alongside Sam Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang.
“Sam sent Gary and me a preliminary protocol for million-dollar bonuses to Michael Kives and Bryan Baum and a one-billion-dollar investment in VC firms. I wanted this to be done with Sam's money, not FTX's money.”
Sam Bankman-Fried had signed a 700 million dollar deal with Kives and Baum, who are known as “super networkers.”