FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried quietly cashed out $300 million in personal stakes in the midst of a $420 million fundraise in October 2021, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Bankman-Fried told investors at the time the raise would be used for things like helping grow FTX and working more with regulators, but a large portion of the cash was used as a reimbursement for a months earlier buyout of Binance's stake in FTX, the Journal reported, citing sources familiar.