FTX Secretly Channeled A $50 Million Loan To Its Bahamian Bank Through An Executive’s Company

The loan was among several deals struck with Jean Chalopin, the head of Deltec and Moonstone banks — and co-creator of Inspector Gadget — who forged a lucrative relationship with FTX.

In late 2021, Deltec was well on its way to becoming one of the world’s most consequential crypto banks — but it needed money. An obscure Bahamian bank born from private wealth management, it had found a profitable, yet risky new role as the banker of choice for crypto giants. After signing on Tether, a wildly popular “asset-backed” stablecoin that had been dropped by traditional financiers, Deltec amassed a roster of white hot clients, among them the $32 billion crypto exchange FTX, then one of the largest.

Before FTX collapsed in November, it appeared flush with cash, spending lavishly across the Bahamas, while its founder Sam Bankman-Fried was lauded as a “future trillionaire.” Amid the dollar signs surrounding his new client, Deltec chairman Jean Chalopin saw an answer to his funding woes. In October 2021, he secured a $50 million loan from an entity connected to FTX through one of its executives; the entity’s ties to FTX and its loan to Deltec have not been previously reported.