Bankrupt Crypto Exchange FTX Bleeds $30M In Legal Fees In A Single Month

Bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX paid more than $30 million in February legal fees and adviser compensation, according to bankruptcy court filings.

The fees were incurred by a half-dozen firms, including Sullivan & Cromwell, Landis Rath & Cobb, AlixPartners, Perella Weinberg Partners, Alvarez & Marsal North America, and FTX CEO John Ray III's Owl Hill Advisory.

The six firms reportedly billed more than 35,400 hours of work in February, The Block reported.

Sullivan & Cromwell, the largest biller, charged FTX $13.5 million for 12,127 hours of work, listing an additional $82,000 in expenses.

Other firms that billed FTX in February include Alvarez & Marsal, which charged the exchange $12 million for 17,000 hours of work and $229,000 in expenses, and Landis Rath & Cobb, which billed $583,000 in compensation and $11,000 in reimbursements for 874 hours of work.

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FTX CEO John Ray III billed the exchange $308,000 in fees and expenses for the month.

Legal fees are a significant cost for companies going through bankruptcy, with Enron, for example, paying $700 million to lawyers over the course of its bankruptcy proceedings.

In January, FTX was billed $38 million by lawyers and advisers, and its $30-million February bill was slightly smaller but still substantial.

The firms billed for their services, including Sullivan & Cromwell, were involved in a range of activities, including investigating customer entitlements in the bankruptcy case and responding to law enforcement inquiries into former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and other executives.

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