FTX legal battles intensify as recovery trust pursues $1.76 billion from Binance

A U.S. bankruptcy judge has allowed the FTX Recovery Trust to continue clawback claims seeking at least $1.76 billion it alleges were transferred to Binance entities and founder Changpeng Zhao in a 2021 share‑repurchase deal. The court dismissed related claims tying Binance to the collapse of FTX and dismissed counts against two individual Binance investors, but the core fraud‑transfer counts against four Binance subsidiaries and Zhao remain pending.

In a separate New York federal case, former congressional candidate Michelle Bond asked the Southern District of New York to bar evidence of her husband Ryan Salame’s guilty plea in the FTX collapse from her campaign‑finance trial. Bond argues the plea is irrelevant to her alleged illegal fundraising. The same court is hearing other crypto‑related disputes, including a $35,000 penalty against former Rep. George Santos for Kalshi trades and a U.S. soldier’s challenge to a $400,000 Polymarket bet, highlighting ongoing regulatory and evidentiary questions for prediction‑market contracts.