Sam Bankman-Fried says he needs some of his $450 million in Robinhood shares to fund his legal defense as he fights for control of the stake

Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

• Sam Bankman-Fried is fighting for ownership of $450 million in Robinhood stock. 
• Meanwhile FTX and BlockFi are laying claim to the shares. 
• The shares are owned in principle by SBF and FTX co-founder Gary Wang. 

Sam Bankman-Fried thinks he should be the sole owner of roughly $450 million in Robinhood stock, and that he needs the shares to help pay for his legal defense, according to a Thursday court filing. 

The problem? Both FTX and BlockFi are laying claim to the shares as well. 

The stock is owned in principle by Bankman-Fried and FTX co-founder Gary Wang, and was purchased through Emergent Fidelity Technologies. SBF argued in December that Emergent, of which Bankman-Fried owns 90% and Wang owns 10%, was a shell company with similar interests compared to FTX. Bankman-Fried and Wang used borrowed funds from Alameda Research to make the purchase which has been previously documented. 

SBF's argument is that he needs the shares to fund his criminal defense, and that while he faces criminal liability, "FTX debtors face only the possibility of economic loss," court documents read. 

Meanwhile, BlockFi's stated ownership of the shares of Robinhood stem from claims that the terms of a loan from BlockFi to FTX used the shares as collateral to guarantee repayment. BlockFi, which is in the midst of its own bankruptcy proceedings, demanded in November that Emergent turn over the shares or liquidate them to make repayment. 

But FTX, now under the leadership of chief executive John Ray III, argued that the funds should be frozen until an agreement can be made that would divvy up the shares among creditors. 

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