NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Deltec says that it will vigorously defend against what it deems as “meritless claims” amidst allegations in a new lawsuit, with the bank maintaining that it did not know about FTX misconduct.
The lawsuit alleges that Sam Bankman-Fried’s Alameda Research artificially inflated the growth of the cryptocurrency Tether using a secret short-term line of credit worth billions of dollars from the Bahamas-based Deltec Bank.
In a statement, Deltec declared: “We are aware of the amended complaint filed by Plaintiffs’ lawyers in the FTX matter. The new complaint does not cure the defects of the prior complaints and Deltec will continue to vigorously defend against these meritless claims, which do not belong in a US court.”
The bank added: “The new allegations rely heavily on unsubstantiated statements by individuals who we understand are settling their lawsuits with Plaintiffs in exchange for providing the information. Like the rest of the world, Deltec Bank and Jean Chalopin had no knowledge of FTX’s misconduct until it was made public.”
In a new filing submitted in a Florida federal court, FTX’s sister trading firm Alameda Research was accused of boosting the growth of USDT issuer Tether through a secret scheme. According to the lawsuit, the hedge fund used billions of dollars worth of secret short-term lines of credit from Deltec Bank & Trust Ltd to influence the growth of Tether.
The BahamAS-based bank was also accused of being an ally to Bankman-Fried in his fraud scheme, where he misappropriated customers’ deposits. It was stated that Deltec helped FTX and Alameda Research by transferring the funds between accounts.
Per the latest filing, the bank had every reason to be suspicious of the transfer but took no action against it.
