Bankman-Fried is being sued along with three former executives by FTX. The legal action has been led by John Ray, a refinancing specialist who succeeded Bankman-Fried as chief executive of FTX following its collapse in November 2022.

Since then, Bankman-Fried has faced charges of fraud and conspiracy and was extradited to the US from Bermuda following his arrest.

Ray says the legal action is being lauched in an effort to help recover the losses suffered by creditors and investors. It has been reported that around $1bn of investor assets are currently missing.

Former chief technology officer Gary Wang is also included in the law suit, along with FTX’s former director of engineering Nishad Singh, and Caroline Ellison, a former chief executive of Alameda Research, a trading firm founded by Bankman-Fried and linked to FTX.

Bankman-Fried is also facing criminal charges related to FTX and if convicted could face decades in prison.