The U.S. government has seized Anthropic stakes held by Caroline Ellison (캐롤라인 엘리슨) and Nishad Singh (니샤드 싱), who were implicated in the FTX collapse, and sold them to existing investors, it has been confirmed. It is not yet decided whether the proceeds will be used to compensate FTX victims or kept by the government.

Business Insider reported on Aug. 31 (local time) that the federal government, acting under a court forfeiture order, took possession of the Anthropic stakes held by Ellison and Singh and then sold them to existing Anthropic investors.

The two joined Sam Bankman-Fried (샘 뱅크먼-프리드) in Anthropic’s Series B round in 2022. Court records show Bankman-Fried invested $500 million, Singh $40 million and Ellison $10 million.

The Anthropic stake held by Bankman-Fried was folded into the FTX bankruptcy process and liquidated into cash to fund creditor repayments. By contrast, the stakes held by Ellison and Singh went through criminal forfeiture. A federal judge ordered forfeiture of the stakes at sentencing, and the federal government took title to Ellison’s stake in February 2025 and Singh’s stake in April that year.

The U.S. Marshals Service later sold the stakes, but the exact sale date, buyers, price and the amount secured by the government were not disclosed. The U.S. Department of Justice says information about asset sales and victim compensation is confidential.

Anthropic’s surging valuation has drawn attention to the size of the proceeds. Anthropic’s valuation rose rapidly on the AI boom. Its valuation climbed from $61.5 billion in Series E in March 2025 to $380 billion in Series G in early 2026. Based on the $965 billion valuation the company presented in May this year, the value of the stakes held by Singh and Ellison could now be estimated at several billion dollars.

The government’s actual sale price may have been far lower. Olav Sorenson (올라브 소렌슨), who teaches venture investment strategy at UCLA, estimated that the value of their stakes would have been in the $300 million to $1.1 billion range depending on the timing of the sale. PitchBook’s Harrison Rolfe (해리슨 롤페스) put the range at $250 million to $630 million.

The key issue is where the proceeds will go. The number of FTX victims is estimated to be in the millions, and the court opted to compensate victims through a U.S. Justice Department-managed remission procedure instead of typical restitution.

But it is uncertain how much will reach victims because the Justice Department has broad discretion in the process. Duncan Levin (덩컨 레빈), a lawyer who lectures on forfeiture at Harvard Law School, described it as a very opaque process. Securities litigation lawyer Michael Buckner (마이클 바크너) also mentioned the possibility that the government could keep funds to cover investigation and prosecution costs.

So far, there is no confirmed indication that proceeds from the Anthropic stake sale have been transferred to the FTX bankruptcy estate. Court filings for the FTX bankruptcy estate show the funds had not been transferred to the estate as of the end of June this year.

Singh’s side says the proceeds should be returned to victims quickly. Singh’s lawyer, Andrew Goldstein (앤드루 골드스타인), said Singh wants the government to rapidly distribute the proceeds to FTX victims. Ellison’s side did not issue a separate position.

FTX victim Sunil Kavuri (수닐 카부리) also argued the government should use the proceeds from the Anthropic stake sale to compensate victims. With Anthropic’s valuation continuing to rise and talk of a possible future listing, controversy is expected to continue over the disposal of stakes once held by former FTX figures and where the funds will end up.