New year, same old troubles — The FTX saga continues in 2023: Law Decoded, Dec. 26-Jan. 2

cointelegraph.com:

Although having been granted the opportunity to enjoy Christmas and the New Year with his family, former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has very few reasons for optimism in 2023. The United States Department of Justice has launched an investigation into the whereabouts of approximately $372 million in missing digital assets from FTX and its U.S.-based subsidiary, FTX US. According to SBF, the incident was perpetrated by either a former FTX employee or someone who had unauthorized access to a former employee’s computer.

It would be great to know which former employees started to transfer out funds from Alameda Research just days after Bankman-Fried was released on a $250 million bond. The Alameda wallet was found to be swapping bits of ERC-20s for Ether (ETH) and Tether (USDT), and then those assets were funneled through instant exchangers and mixers. SBF later denied any involvement in the movement of funds.

While the government agencies are queuing to sue the FTX and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried, the group of former customers made an effort to get their money back first. Having filed a lawsuit in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, four plaintiffs seek to obtain the priority rights to return digital assets held by FTX US or FTX.com to its customers.

The next episode of the FTX saga is scheduled for Jan. 3, when the former FTX CEO will appear in court. Reportedly he will plead not guilty to the alleged FTX and Alameda-related financial frauds. And that is not surprising. As legal counsel commented to Cointelegraph, SBF will be “unlikely to receive a favorable deal from prosecutors,” even if he entered a plea deal.

Japanese regulators are reconsidering some major cryptocurrency restrictions related