The judge overseeing FTX's U.S. bankruptcy said Thursday that he would not defer to a Bahamian court about key issues like which FTX entity should collect assets and repay customers of the bankrupt crypto exchange, Reuters reported. Liquidators for FTX Digital Markets, the exchange's Bahamas-based subsidiary, have asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey to let them seek a ruling from the Bahamas Supreme Court that their company controlled FTX.com's crypto exchange for international customers. FTX's U.S. bankruptcy team seeks to block the Bahamas litigation, calling it a power grab that would derail the company's ongoing efforts to repay customers. Judge Dorsey questioned the value of a Bahamian court ruling during a Thursday court hearing in Wilmington, Delaware, saying that he would retain authority over the $7 billion in assets recovered by the U.S. debtors no matter what the Bahamian court rules. Both courts would have to sign off before any assets transfer from the U.S. to the Bahamas, Judge Dorsey said. "It doesn't go to FTX Digital until I say it goes to FTX Digital," Judge Dorsey said. "So what are we gaining by having two parallel proceedings in two separate courts?" Chris Shore, an attorney for the Bahamian liquidators, said that a Bahamas court ruling would clarify each side's responsibilities and provide a framework for cooperation between the U.S. bankruptcy case and involuntary insolvency proceedings in the Bahamas.
