Binance and CZ Subpoena Kevin O'Leary and Michael Lewis in FTX's $1.76B Clawback Case

Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao have subpoenaed Kevin O'Leary and author Michael Lewis, according to Cointelegraph. The two names land squarely inside FTX's $1.76B clawback lawsuit, a fight that has been grinding on since the exchange imploded in November 2022.

The $1.76B at stake traces back to the stake buyback — the chunk of cash Sam Bankman-Fried's empire allegedly sent Binance to exit its FTX position. The FTX estate has been chasing that money ever since, arguing it belongs to creditors, not to the exchange that walked away with it.

Neither O'Leary nor Lewis is a random pick. O'Leary served as a paid spokesperson for FTX and put his own money in, becoming one of the brand's most recognizable public faces before the collapse. Lewis embedded with Bankman-Fried and turned the saga into *Going Infinite*, making him one of the closest chroniclers of the rise and fall.

A subpoena compels documents or testimony, so both men now face a choice: cooperate or fight it. Whether they hand over what lawyers are asking for, or push back in court, isn't clear yet.

Zhao, meanwhile, is on the other side of this one — named alongside his former exchange as the target of the clawback claim. The FTX estate wants the money back, and it's now pulling in witnesses who had front-row seats to the whole spectacle.