The co-creator of 'Inspector Gadget' reportedly had a close relationship with Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX, which included a secret $50 million loan

• Jean Chalopin is co-creator of Inspector Gadget and the chairman of Bahamas-based Deltec Bank.
• Chalopin secured a secret $50 million loan for Deltec from an FTX-related entity in 2021, according to Forbes.

One would not be blamed for not having the kids' show "Inspector Gadget" on their FTX collapse bingo card, but apparently the two are connected.

Jean Chalopin, one of the minds behind several children's shows including the 1980s cartoon, is the chairman of Deltec. The Bahamian bank's parent company secured a secret $50 million loan from an entity connected to FTX through former executive Ryan Salame, Forbes reported on Monday.

Deltec International Group received millions from Norton Hall, an entity run by Salame, in October of 2021, Chalopin confirmed to the news outlet.

You may not have heard of Deltec, but the obscure financial services provider was once on its way to becoming the most important crypto bank with clients like FTX and Tether. The mysterious offshore bank said that it was holding nearly $2 billion for Tether in 2018.

Bankman-Fried's Alameda Research trading firm later invested $11.5 million in another Chalopin-owned entity called Moonstone through a holding company. Chalopin is on the board of both Moonstone and Deltec. The investment from Alameda was for 10% of the bank, valuing Moonstone at $115 million, Protos reported in late November.

Moonstone was formerly known as Farmington State Bank, a small rural banking institution and a mysterious piece of the FTX puzzle in the wake of the exchange's collapse.

Chalopin said that the deal signified "the recognition, by one of the world's most innovative financial leaders, of the value of what we are aiming to achieve," according to a press release.

Moonstone, which is located in a 140-person farming town in Washington state, had roughly $50 million in FTX funds, per a court filing in December. The crypto exchange became Moonstone's largest customer.

Chalopin's companies and FTX, along with the bankrupt exchange's related entities, forged a lucrative relationship, according to Forbes. Deltec sponsored FTX's Crypto Bahamas Conference in late April, with Chapolin as a guest speaker alongside Tony Blair and Bill Clinton.

In the sponsorship announcement, Chalopin described Deltec as a "long-time friend of FTX."

"It is is our pleasure to support them," he added. "As the first financial institution in The Bahamas to have supported blockchain developments and adopted digital currencies, our participation in Crypto Bahamas is a great fit as we work with regulators, industry experts and entrepreneurs to advocate for innovation and positive disruption."

After Deltec decided to pivot to digital assets in 2018, Chalopin and his associates assisted Bahamian authorities with their own crypto efforts and helped the government draft crypto-friendly legislation.

"They were one of the first regulators to put together something," Chalopin previously told Forbes. "And that attracted FTX."