US-based trading platform Robinhood has announced plans to buy back stock from a holding company previously owned by disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.

Robinhood on Friday said it had entered into a share repurchase agreement with the United States Marshal Service (USMS) for $605.7 million. The company added that the 55.3 million shares would be sold at $10.96 each.

The US District Judge overseeing the case, Manhattan-based Lewis Kaplan, called Robinhood’s proposed share purchase agreement “appropriate” and "in the best interest of the relevant stakeholders".

Confirmed reports of Robinhood’s intention to buy back the stake emerged in February, with the company saying that its board had authorised it to pursue purchasing most or all of the stock.

Bankman-Fried’s Emergent Fidelity Technologies, which purchased a 7.6 per cent stake in Robinhood in mid-2022, was transferred into the custody of the US government last year after it and FTX filed for bankruptcy following the crypto exchange’s collapse.

Bankman-Fried previously said that he was “excited” about the prospect of partnering with Robinhood, though never stated any intention of launching a full takeover of the firm.

The former cryptocurrency wunderkind is currently awaiting trial having pleaded not guilty to criminal fraud and conspiracy charges. He is currently residing in his parents’ Palo Alto home with limited internet access on $250 million bail.

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