Government Sells Forfeited Anthropic Shares for $627M
The federal government divested over 4.4 million Anthropic shares in October 2025 following criminal forfeiture proceedings.
Updated on Oct. 26, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence
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In October 2025, the U.S. federal government sold 4,453,900 forfeited Series B shares of AI developer Anthropic back to the company for $627 million. The shares were originally acquired by former FTX executives Caroline Ellison and Nishad Singh during a 2022 fundraising round before being seized.
Why it matters
The transaction highlights the complex process of liquidating private equity assets recovered from criminal forfeiture proceedings. As of June 2026, the proceeds remain held by the government rather than the FTX bankruptcy estate, with no compensation fund for victims yet announced.
Anthropic repurchased the shares at a price of $140.9676 per share in October 2025. The company subsequently resold the entire block of 4,453,900 shares to nine private investors for the same $627 million total.
The players
Anthropic
An AI safety and research company known for developing the Claude series of large language models.
U.S. Marshals Service Complex Assets Unit
A federal agency responsible for the seizure and liquidation of property and financial assets obtained through criminal activity.
The details
The U.S. Marshals Service Complex Assets Unit managed the liquidation of the equity, which the government officially seized by April 2025 following legal proceedings. Anthropic executed a direct buyback of the stock from the federal agency to reclaim control of its equity. The shares were later redistributed to a select group of nine investors, maintaining the company's private capital structure ahead of its projected November 2026 initial public offering.
Timeline
2022: Former executives purchased the Anthropic shares.
April 2025: The government took ownership of the forfeited shares.
October 2025: The government sold the shares back to Anthropic.
June 2026: The proceeds remain held by the government.
November 2026: Anthropic is expected to hold an initial public offering.
The Tech Race
The government's handling of these forfeited assets underscores the regulatory hurdles faced by startups when equity becomes caught in high-profile criminal litigation. This liquidation serves as a test case for how federal agencies manage complex, non-liquid private equity in the booming AI sector.
The transaction does not change product availability or services for current users of the company's AI models. It primarily affects the company's ownership structure and the long-term financial recovery path for victims of the underlying criminal proceedings.
The takeaway
The government's sale of these shares closes a major chapter in the financial cleanup following the FTX trial. Observers should track if and when the $627 million in proceeds is transferred to the FTX bankruptcy estate for distribution to creditors.
What happens next
Investors are monitoring the company for its projected initial public offering, which is currently expected to occur in November 2026.
Further reading
For broader trends in industry regulation and corporate oversight, see Artificial Intelligence.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Business Insider.
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