Sam Bankman-Peace’s trading company owes the bankrupt crypto broker $ 377 million

Sam Bankman-Fried

The bankruptcy filing from the cryptocurrency broker Voyager Digital provides a roadmap of the company’s relationships, including borrowers, lenders and investors.

It turns out that Alameda Research, the trading company co-founded by cryptocurrency billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, is all three.

As a lender to Voyager, Alameda owes $ 75 million below a credit line it offered the troubled platform last month. But Alameda also owes Voyager $ 376.8 million on a loan, the documentation shows.

Alameda is also one of Voyager’s largest shareholders, with an ownership share of over 9 percent, according to data collected by Bloomberg.

Alameda’s many hats exemplify its extensive influence in cryptocurrencies and help explain why Mr Bankman-Fried, who has a net worth of $ 13.9 billion, is such a key player in the industry.

Mr Bankman-Fried founded Alameda in 2017 to conduct cryptocurrency arbitration trading before moving on to operating the FTX cryptocurrency exchange.

The bands also emphasize the interconnected nature of cryptocurrency, a feature that has accelerated losses in the industry during the market meltdown this year.

The world’s 10 richest cryptocurrency billionaires – in pictures

“There’s a lot of incestuous activity among crypto-lending companies,” said Aaron Brown, a crypto-investor who writes for Bloomberg Opinion.

“In traditional finance, there is more public disclosure and regulatory oversight of these schemes. There are mechanisms in place [not always effective] to deal with conflicts of interest. But crypto is different. “

The different roles that Alameda plays point to the extent of “recycled capital” in the cryptocurrency sector, which masks the health of institutions in space, said Adam Levitin, a law professor at Georgetown University.

“It is likely to lead to excessive exposures and worsen the link between institutions.”

When Voyager faced potential liquidity problems stemming from the Three Arrows, it secured a credit limit worth around $ 485 million from Alameda in mid-June, of which it has withdrawn $ 75 million, the maximum amount allowed in a 30-day period.

The lifeline was only a partial solution that could not save Voyager, it is stated in the archive. Meanwhile, as a borrower, Alameda is still on the hook to repay Voyager despite the bankruptcy proceedings.

Such relationships can complicate disputes in a time of stress. CoinFlex, a cryptocurrency exchange, recently accused its own investor and client Roger Ver of failing to pay $ 47 million in a margin. Mr Ver denied the allegations and their dispute was made public on social media.

Leonardo Del Vecchio

Leonardo Del Vecchio’s right hand man will succeed the Italian billionaire – who died on June 27 – as chairman of the family’s Dolphin holding company.

Francesco Milleri (63), who was appointed on 28 June to follow Del Vecchio as chairman of the glasses company EssilorLuxottica, will now take on the same role in the holding company.

Milleri has been EssilorLuxottica’s CEO since 2020.

“Based on indications left by Del Vecchio, Milleri was appointed chairman of the board,” Delfin said.

Dolphin has assets of around $ 25 billion, including a controlling stake in EssilorLuxottica, a stake in investment bank Mediobanca of just under 20 percent and a stake in insurance company Assicurazioni Generali of less than 10 percent.

Del Vecchio, who passed away at the age of 87, relied on Mr Milleri to help draft a 2018 deal to merge Luxottica, the company founded by the tycoon, with French lens maker Essilor, and then run the combined the unit.

Now Mr Milleri will play a crucial role in the company’s future, aiming to implement his mentor’s dream of throwing EssilorLuxottica into the exclusive club of companies valued at more than € 100 billion ($ 105 billion). The group currently has a market value of around 64 billion euros.

Mr Milleri, who took over as CEO of EssilorLuxottica after three years of clashes between the company’s Italian and French sides, will also get the job for him at Delfin.

The leader, who shares Del Vecchio’s vision to build Mediobanca and Generali into European leaders, must devise a strategy with the billionaire’s heirs for the portfolio’s financial investments.

Milleri worked with Del Vecchio in recent years when he tried to bring about changes in the strategy of the two companies.

Del Vecchio shared the fortune equally between his wife, six children and the son of one of his former wives, who works at EssilorLuxottica.

The billionaire structured Delfin to avoid the risk that his heirs would break up the company he created and its main investments. A majority of 88 percent is required to approve any major change, which means that all eight heirs must agree on any major strategy change.

Naguib Sawiris

Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris, who has a net worth of $ 6.37 billion, is exploring options for ItaliaOnline, the Italian leader in Internet services controlled by his holdings.

Mr Sawiris’ Orascom is considering selling a minority stake or even a controlling stake in the company, sources said.

Any deal can value ItaliaOnline at around 400 million euros. Friere, including the Netherlands-based Azerion Group, has expressed interest in buying a stake in the company. However, no final decision has been made, and other options may still emerge.

Last month, Orascom agreed to buy the 27.5 percent of ItaliaOnline, which did not already own through Libero Acquisition’s financial vehicles. This agreement came about in the middle of a clash over strategy with minority investors, the sources said.

Representatives of ItaliaOnline, Azerion and Orascom declined to comment.

ItaliaOnline last year reported a turnover of € 292 million and a profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of around € 50 million, according to official records made available to Bloomberg. The company had about 1,200 employees at the end of last year.

ItaliaOnline offers services including local online marketing, digital advertising and web directories, and branded email services such as Libero Mail and Virgilio.

Nicky Oppenheimer

Billionaire Nicky Oppenheimer, South Africa’s second richest man, won a court order to temporarily halt mineral exploration on his private family farm in Zimbabwe.

Pearline Mineral Exploration must halt all mining operations on the 65,000-acre Shangani Ranch, according to a recent ruling by the High Court of Zimbabwe. The mining magnate sought legal protection after workers saw a plane leased by Pearline conduct a geographic survey from the air last month.

The court granted the interim injunction while fully assessing the case. Pearline was granted a license to search for minerals in an area that includes parts of the ranch, but the court said it did not have the proper environmental documents to start exploration.

See: Indian miner becomes millionaire after finding 26 carat diamond