French customers who are victims of FTX can take steps to recover their money. BFM Crypto discussed it with Margaux Frisque, attorney-at-law at D&A partners.
The bankruptcy of the giant FTX has left millions of customers doubting whether they will ever get their money back. Among these customers are also French, with more or less large amounts blocked on FTX. If it is difficult to know how many French people are involved, more and more initiatives are emerging. Today, more than 1000 French people have joined the Telegram group FTX – Mutual Aid Collective EN
As a reminder, the fallen giant has $1.24 billion in cash, while the platform already owes $3.1 billion to its 50 largest creditors.
While the file FTX is processed in the US and the Bahamas, some French customers are wondering how to get their money back. BFM Crypto posed the question to Margaux Frisque, attorney at the firm D&A Partners. The company that specializes in cryptocurrencies has been approached by a few Frenchmen and is working with an American company to be as close as possible to the proceedings.
Three steps to follow
At this stage, a French client can consider three steps, among others. Firstly, he can initiate criminal proceedings by filing a criminal complaint with a competent judicial body in France, for example with the assistance of his counsel to the public prosecutor of a competent judicial court, in particular for fraud and breach of trust .
Subsequently, the duped investor could join a class action in the United States or France, as certain collectives begin to emerge. Finally, D&A’s procedural law department is currently investigating the desirability of filing a report and within what period, because the class action is subject to US law. Indeed, on November 11, FTX was placed under Chapter 11 protection in the United States.
So it would be a matter of preparing the remote deposit of a ‘bankruptcy claim’, with local counsel in the appropriate US court when the time comes. In order to do this, the customer must in principle provide all evidence justifying the reality of his claim (“proof of claim”): for example, screenshots of their accounts and whether they still have access to FTX or to an online platform operated by FTX is offered, download their account history to justify the assets their portfolios hold,” points out Margaux Frisque.
The law firm advises its clients to declare their debts in order to claim repayment of an “even small” part of their debt, because if they are not on the list of 50 creditors, there is no other repayment channel.
“Under French law, it is the debtor who lists all his creditors and submits them to the Commercial Court when the class action begins. An obligation provided for in Article L.653-8 of the Commercial Code. The debt of his creditor must appear on the list of creditors that he provides to the court so that the creditor receives a notification,” the lawyer clarifies.
“A small part of their bet”
With regard to FTX, the list of the 50 largest creditors will be “intended” to be completed because FTX has millions of creditors around the world, the lawyer believes. But while the largest creditors have guarantees to recover their money, the procedure can be more complicated for individuals. In files close to Ponzi schemes, “investors get back a small portion of their investment,” says Margaux Frisque.
As a reminder, FTX was considered the second largest cryptocurrency exchange, with a valuation of $32 billion. But Friday, November 11, is the platform filed for bankruptcy in the United Statespushing the cryptocurrency market into the red.