FTX bankruptcy will be ‘very expensive’ but there’s a reason: Auditor
Fees charged by the lawyers and the restructuring team working on the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX have topped $200 million in just over seven months, but an independent auditor argues it makes sense, given the mammoth task.
On June 20 the court-appointed fee examiner, Katherine Stadler, filed a 47-page report on the fees charged by the law firms in the roughly three months after FTX's Nov. 11, 2022 bankruptcy date and concluded they were not “wholly unreasonable in the moment.”
She remarked on the “largely unregulated financial system” in which FTX operates, adding the case was “remarkable” for the exchange's “global scope, the complete absence of corporate records, and the non-existence of even the most basic corporate governance.”
FTX Professional FeesThis continues to be an extremely expensive case and the Estate has been petitioned for nearly $225mm over 5.5 months (with a couple small stragglers remaining).March fees peaked at $1.6mm PER DAY!Fortunately, April is trending positively downward. pic.twitter.com/eMTJC3R9Xr
Stadler confirmed the team working on FTX had “requested more than $200 million in fees” since its November bankruptcy, adding:
She gave a glowing review of the FTX restructuring team saying she was “struck” by those who “sprung into action” to “begin transforming a smoldering heap of wreckage.”
“Very few firms could have accomplished what these professionals accomplished in 90 days,” Stadler added.
Stadler’s report broke down the fees charged by the law firms in the first weeks after FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
It said hourly rates for the 242 lawyers on the case ranged from $388 to $2,165 and 46 lawyers were on more than $2,000 an hour.
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