Fenwick & West accused of assisting FTX in global fraud

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Mikhail Vnuchkov

12.08.2025

Fenwick & West accused of assisting FTX in global fraud — FTX investors sue Fenwick & West for alleged RICO violations

Following the team of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX, investors in the cryptocurrency exchange now seek to hold the law firm Fenwick & West accountable for its role in supporting the company’s operations.

In their class-action lawsuit, FTX investors demand that Fenwick be held liable under the RICO Act (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations), emphasizing the uniqueness of the case and claiming they can prove in court that Fenwick knew about the fraud conducted by the exchange’s management and actively assisted in it.

According to court documents, “The court-appointed independent examiner for FTX has already reviewed over 200,000 internal documents (from the FTX database and directly from Fenwick) and concluded that Fenwick was closely involved in virtually every aspect of the FTX Group’s fraud and misconduct.”

Investors argue that Fenwick, which had strong connections in Silicon Valley, not only helped FTX compete with established crypto exchanges such as Coinbase—using its name in promotional campaigns—but also built the corporate structure and effectively managed Alameda Research and North Dimension, the entities through which investor funds were siphoned off.

A complex case

After FTX’s bankruptcy proceedings began, much of the correspondence between FTX and Fenwick was destroyed because it had been conducted through secure messaging apps. Former FTX CTO Nishad Singh, who cooperated with investigators, stated that he had informed Fenwick about illegal orders from company leadership, yet Fenwick & West allegedly continued providing strategic support to the exchange.

The firm also allegedly facilitated illegal loans, paid bonuses to influential partners on behalf of FTX, resolved disputes, and helped avoid U.S. “money transmitter” regulations through complex international financial channels.

Court materials claim that the Fenwick & West–FTX scandal has serious economic and legal consequences on an international scale.

On one hand, Fenwick is one of Silicon Valley’s most successful law firms, having served as legal counsel to over 1,500 startups, including about 100 unicorns. On the other hand, despite bankruptcy proceedings and creditor payouts, most investors remain dissatisfied due to the large gap between investments and compensation.

During the investigation, cryptocurrency prices rose significantly, but payouts were made in fiat currency without accounting for the difference. Many users gave up hope of reimbursement and sold their claims to intermediary firms. More than 80% of investor lawsuits against FTX come from Chinese users who have not received payments.

As we wrote, FTX: Empire of illusions and biggest crypto fraud

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