Canadian business person, Shark Tank judge, and contributor to CNBC Kevin O’Leary admits he lost a $15 million payment made to him by FTX.
In an interview with CNBC, he disclosed that the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX had paid him $15 million to serve as the firm’s spokesperson.
Things, however, didn’t turn out as planned when the $32 billion empire crumbled and all the celebrities who pushed it were scrutinized. Investors claimed celebrities like Tom Brady, Kevin O’Leary, and others didn’t do their homework before endorsing Sam Bankman-Fried‘s FTX exchange and they sued them for it.
Victim of “Groupthink”
O’Leary acknowledged he was a victim of “groupthink” but insisted that none of his investment partners had lost money. He was also mocked by the hosts of CNBC Squawk Box for not thoroughly researching FTX before investing.
According to O’Leary the deal with FTX was worth $15 million, most of which was invested in Crypto. The amount he allocated to crypto was $9.7 million, which he claims is now down to zero. O’Leary said that the remaining $4 million was spent on taxes and that he also lost $1 million in FTX stock.
Call For FTX Audit
Earlier this week, O’Leary appeared to be defending former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. In a Dec. 6 interview with Yahoo Finance, he urged restraint in the wake of FTX’s demise.
He added that the former FTX CEO should be treated as innocent until proof of his guilt is revealed. O’Leary demanded that FTX be audited to show where the exchange’s money went so that investors could get their money back.
In that same interview, O’Leary said that all of the exchange’s transactions were “100% auditable” because of blockchain technology and that the audit will reveal the truth about FTX. If someone had broken the law, they would then face legal action. He suggested that if an audit is conducted, investors will be able to recover at least a portion of their investment.
FTX’s Multiple Cases
FTX was the second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume in the world prior to going bankrupt. However, a series of incidents prevented it from processing withdrawals from November 2 to November 11. It then filed for bankruptcy, and as a result, billions of dollars in investor capital are currently involved in these bankruptcy proceedings.
FTX’s troubles don’t end there. Bankman-Fried is also under investigation for his alleged involvement in the collapse of TerraUST and LUNA in May. The former FTX CEO is accused of mismanaging billions of dollars in client money, yet is still at large.
Global governments have moved toward a more rapid regulatory framework because of the collapse of the cryptocurrency behemoth.
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