- CEO John J. Ray III’s remuneration was $305,000 in February
- FTX paid $34m for legal and consulting services in January 2023
According to a number of court filings, bankrupt crypto exchange FTX paid law firms a total of around $32.5 million in February, CoinTelegraph reported.
This number did not include CEO and restructuring head John J. Ray III’s remuneration, which was $305,000 in February. His compensation for March was similar at $329,173.
CEO’s hourly rate is $1,300
The CEO worked around 256 hours in March and billed $1,300 per hour, incurring fees of $327,470 in total. A very small part of that was for accommodation, airfares, transport, meals, etc.
Law firm Sullivan and Cromwell billed $13.4M+
Law firm Sullivan and Cromwell asked for the most money of all the legal experts working with FTX. The team billed more than $13.4 million for services provided for FTX in February.
Filings show that law firm Alvarez and Marsal was next in line with more than $11.9 million. Alix Partners, a forensic investigation consultancy firm, detailed a fee statement of around $3.6 million in February.
Another law firm, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart and Sullivan, asked for more than $2.7 million in compensation for February. The hourly rates of partners at the firm were between $1,200 and $1,900, while those of associates ranged from $750 to $1,183. They billed a total of 2,610 hours.
A bitter pill for customers
The amount charged by advisors, lawyers, and other legal experts was only slightly higher in January. The bankrupt exchange paid $34.18 million for legal and consulting services in the first month of 2023, earlier court documents show.
The compensation and fees FTX is paying its army of lawyers, executives, associates, investigators, paralegals, accountants, and directors are a bitter pill for customers to swallow, as the latter are still waiting for their lost funds to be returned.
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