The US claims a brutal tax debt from FTX, and users would bear the brunt

As if the case of FTX y Sam Bankman-Fried wasn’t complicated enough, a new player has entered the scene: el IRS. The US agency, in charge of tax collection and compliance with tax laws, claims a brutal tax debt from the exchange of cryptocurrencies and other sister companies. As reported CoinDeskthe sum reaches 44,000 million dollars.

The aforementioned media indicates that the IRS has filed 45 claims against companies belonging to the FTX group. These include FTX.US, the affiliate of the exchange that worked in the United States, Blockfolio and Ledger Holdings, among others. Although, to no one’s surprise, the company most compromised by unpaid taxes is Alameda Research.

let’s not forget that Alameda Research it was the investment firm of Sam Bankman-Fried, and was a key player in the FTX scandal. From this company, billions of dollars were drained from the accounts of the users of the exchange of cryptocurrencies in order to finance their operations. Caroline Ellisonits former CEO, is one of the executives who has pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy, and is currently working with prosecutors in the case that will go to trial in October.

The most important IRS claims against FTX are precisely against two units of Alameda Research. To one he demands more than 28,000 million dollars, and to the other about 9,500 million dollars.

The documentation reveals that, of the total debt of the company, some $20,000 million correspond to what the tax laws of the United States call “corporate taxation”o partnership taxation. However, they are also claiming millions of dollars of unpaid income tax and payroll tax.

FTX also faces a very serious tax problem

The IRS’s claim against FTX for unpaid taxes impacts for several reasons. The caliber of the sum is one of them, without a doubt. After all, what Sam Bankman-Fried’s companies owe the US tax agency is roughly the same as what Elon Musk paid to buy Twitter. Something that speaks clearly of the magnitude that the exchange cryptocurrency and its sister firms came to boast in their prime.

But the $44 billion tax debt may also be a fatal blow for FTX users hoping to get their money back. CoinDesk mentions that the IRS lawsuits have been classified as “administrative priority.” What does this mean? That the tax agency would have priority to access the claimed funds before any other creditor.

The funds recovered by the bankruptcy managers today would not cover even half of the debt with the collecting agency. Situation that paints a dark picture for those who wanted to access the money or cryptocurrencies that were blocked when the exchange and other group companies ceased to operate.

The last word is not yet said, of course. But no one dares to predict how this story will continue. For now, those responsible for the bankruptcy of FTX continue to try to recover the funds of their clients. At the beginning of March, an estimated $9 billion was still missing.

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