With FTX he founded one of the largest trading platforms for cryptocurrencies. After his collapse he is arrested. Now Sam Bankman-Fried is on trial – and apparently can’t remember a lot of things.
Former cryptocurrency entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried drew the court’s displeasure with evasive answers during an appearance in his fraud trial. Yesterday in New York, the 31-year-old initially only had to answer questions from the defense and prosecution before the judge. In his answers, he often evaded the prosecution’s questions or claimed lapses in his memory, as US media reported from the courtroom.
Admonishment from Judge Lewis Kaplan
When asked specific questions about possible legal violations, Bankman-Fried often gave answers such as “I can’t remember”, “I may have” and “Not as far as I know”. The ex-entrepreneur was then warned by Judge Lewis Kaplan to answer the questions directly.
Bankman-Fried became known as the founder of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which collapsed spectacularly around a year ago. The US judiciary accuses him of diverting billions from the assets of FTX customers without their knowledge in order, among other things, to finance risky transactions by his hedge fund Alameda Research. In the end, the gaps at Alameda Research became too big – and FTX got caught up in the vortex.
Bankman-Fried denies the fraud allegations. If convicted, he faces a long prison sentence; in the worst case scenario, it could be more than 100 years in prison.
Former companion incriminates Bankman-Fried
Bankman-Fried had been incriminated by his former companions throughout the course of the trial. His lawyers announced this week that he would take the witness stand himself. However, prosecutors countered that some of his expected testimony – particularly about the role of FTX legal experts – was not relevant to the trial.
The judge then decided to first get a picture without a jury in the room. This gave Bankman-Fried the opportunity for a test run – which is rather unusual in litigation. When questioned by his defense attorneys, he pointed out that his actions had been approved by FTX lawyers.
Before the collapse, FTX was one of the largest trading venues for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas in December. FTX had its headquarters there.
Source: Stern
