Bahamas securities regulators said they seized digital assets valued at $3.5bn from FTX’s local operation in mid-November as the cryptocurrency exchange spiralled towards collapse, a figure that FTX’s US managers cast doubt on 30 December.

Christina Rolle, executive director of the Securities Commission of the Bahamas, said in an affidavit made public on 29 December that the commission sought control of the crypto assets held by FTX Digital Markets last month after FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried told local authorities under oath about a hacking attempt. Her affidavit, filed with the Supreme Court of the Bahamas, also confirmed that the Securities Commission relied on Bankman-Fried and another FTX co-founder, Gary Wang, to make the transfers happen.