The estate of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX and its affiliated entities are facing claims from the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) amounting to nearly $44 billion, with the largest claim being $20.4 billion against Alameda Research LLC for unpaid partnership taxes. Bankruptcy filings dated April 27 and 28 revealed that the IRS has made a total of 45 claims against FTX exchange companies, which include West Realm Shires (the legal entity of FTX.US), Ledger Holdings (the parent company of LedgerX and LedgerPrime), and Blockfolio, among others.
One of the claims being made is for a substantial amount of money, with the IRS seeking $20.4 billion from Alameda Research LLC, as well as an additional claim of $7.9 billion. Two further claims, totalling $9.5 billion, are being made against Alameda Research Holdings Inc. These claims have been submitted as "Admin Priority" claims, which could mean that they take precedence over the claims of other creditors in the event of a bankruptcy case.
The specific details of the $20.4 billion claim against Alameda Research LLC have been disclosed in the bankruptcy documents. The IRS is seeking to collect approximately $20 billion in partnership taxes, with the remaining amount of the claim consisting of withheld income taxes and payroll taxes amounting to millions of dollars.
According to an IRS spokesperson, federal law prohibits them from verifying or denying any communication related to a taxpayer's case. However, during a hearing in January 2023, FTX's bankruptcy lawyers claimed to have identified assets worth over $5 billion. In the initial bankruptcy filings, the company had estimated its assets to be between $1 billion and $10 billion, but this figure has since fluctuated as the management has uncovered more funds in the past few months.
