Who really owns FTX EU? Backpack or FTX

Backpack Exchange’s claim of acquiring FTX EU faces sharp opposition from the FTX bankruptcy estate. The Dubai based exchange announced a $32.7 million acquisition of FTX EU to boost its derivatives offerings but FTX’s US estate claims ownership of the European unit remains unresolved.

Backpack reportedly claims that it bought FTX EU from insiders Patrick Gruhn and Robin Matzke, who purportedly closed the deal in May. Payments were allegedly made per the terms of the sale. Meanwhile, FTX’s estate asserts that FTX Europe AG still holds FTX EU’s shares, and the insider transfer hasn’t occurred.

FTX EU ownership war

The FTX estate stated that Backpack “has no involvement” in the court-approved process for refunding FTX creditors. It also criticized Dubai based exchange for issuing a press release without its knowledge.

A March 2024 court-approved sale of FTX EU to insiders Patrick Gruhn and Robin Matzke seems to be the root of the dispute. Backpack says the deal was completed in June 2024 with CySEC’s approval in December. It implies that with the regulatory nod, the FTX estate must finalize the share transfer as per the sales agreement.

Backpack plans to rebrand FTX EU as Backpack EU and redistribute funds to former FTX EU clients, pending the estate’s formal share transfer. On the other hand, Gruhn had clarified that while FTX retains no direct ties to Backpack. He suggests that FTX may only want to clarify its separation from Backpack in this bankruptcy process.

FTX estate refutes Backpack’s claim

A press release issued by FTX reads “As of today, 100% of the share capital of FTX EU is held by FTX Europe AG, an FTX subsidiary. The previously announced transfer of the FTX EU shares to certain former insiders of FTX Europe has not yet occurred.”

It added that the Dubai based Backpack has not been authorized by FTX to make any distributions to any FTX customers or other creditors. FTX added that its EU body is solely responsible for the return of any funds it owes to former FTX EU customers.

It highlighted that FTX has not reviewed or approved a website established by Backpack regarding asset recovery for former FTX EU customers. The crashed exchange disclaims any responsibility for the accuracy of any information made by Backpack.

The Dubai based exchange issued a reply where it mentioned that that they purchased the same European assets from these same insiders. This is allegedly been completed and reflected on official publicly available German court records since June 2024.

It added that after CySec approval the FTX estate is obligated to transfer the shares as set out in the court-approved sales and purchase agreement. Backpack stated that its looking forward to the completion of the transfer so that it can begin to return customer funds to former FTX EU customers.

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