Sam Bankman-Fried admitted to making management mistakes while at the helm of FTX, his former multibillion-dollar cryptocurrency empire, during Friday testimony in his defense at trial.
His testimony comes a day later than anticipated, after the judge overseeing the trial unexpectedly sent jurors home on Thursday afternoon in order to determine which parts of Bankman-Fried’s testimony he would allow.
“I made a number of small mistakes and a number of large mistakes,” Bankman-Fried, 31, said in sharing his version of the rise and fall of crypto trading platform FTX. The biggest mistake, he said, was not implementing a dedicated risk management team.
“There were significant oversights,” he said.
The former billionaire’s testimony comes after the prosecution has presented 12 days of testimony in federal court in Manhattan, including from former business partners and his ex-girlfriend.
Prosecutors have accused Bankman-Fried of pillaging FTX for his own high-flying ends. He faces seven counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to launder money, felony charges that could carry sentences of decades in prison if he is convicted. He has pleaded not guilty to the allegations that he stole FTX customers’ funds and used them for a $40m Bahamas penthouse, A-list celebrity endorsements and $100m in political contributions.
The trial began in early October, and has seen prosecutors put forward multiple witnesses including former members of Bankman-Fried’s inner circle who say they committed crimes at his direction.
The star witness has been Caroline Ellison, Bankman-Fried’s former girlfriend and the CEO of Alameda Research, a hedge fund closely associated with FTX, through which Bankman-Fried allegedly funneled FTX customers’ cash. Ellison testified that Bankman-Fried masterminded billions of dollars in fraud, and that his disheveled boy genius appearance was a carefully curated facade.
Ellison and Gary Wang, a co-founder of FTX, have pleaded guilty in agreements with federal prosecutors to wire, securities and commodities fraud. Like Ellison, Wang testified against Bankman-Fried, saying that his former colleague was not surprised to hear about an $8bn hole in FTX’s balance sheet.
Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty. He was arrested in the Bahamas and extradited to the United States last December, a month after his businesses collapsed.
On the witness stand on Thursday, Bankman-Fried appeared uncomfortable. He winced, stared downward and apologized repeatedly, and often appeared unaware of how his companies were functioning.
His testimony also suggested that he will attempt to clarify the encryption and data-retention practices at FTX, and explain away seemingly spurious movements of money.
The possibility of Bankman-Fried testifying drew large crowds to the lower Manhattan courthouse on Thursday. Those in court included Bankman-Fried’s parents, as well as Michael Lewis, the author who recently published a book on Bankman-Fried. Three overflow rooms contained dozens of crypto enthusiasts and spectators. But the anticipation was swiftly deflated by Kaplan’s surprise change of plans.
Kaplan indicated in Thursday’s proceedings that the jury may start deliberating on the case early next week, meaning closing arguments could be expected as soon as Monday.
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiZWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRoZWd1YXJkaWFuLmNvbS9idXNpbmVzcy8yMDIzL29jdC8yNy9zYW0tYmFua21hbi1mcmllZC10ZXN0aW1vbnktZnR4LWNyeXB0b2N1cnJlbmN5LXRyaWFs0gFlaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAudGhlZ3VhcmRpYW4uY29tL2J1c2luZXNzLzIwMjMvb2N0LzI3L3NhbS1iYW5rbWFuLWZyaWVkLXRlc3RpbW9ueS1mdHgtY3J5cHRvY3VycmVuY3ktdHJpYWw?oc=5
2023-10-27 13:27:00Z
CBMiZWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRoZWd1YXJkaWFuLmNvbS9idXNpbmVzcy8yMDIzL29jdC8yNy9zYW0tYmFua21hbi1mcmllZC10ZXN0aW1vbnktZnR4LWNyeXB0b2N1cnJlbmN5LXRyaWFs0gFlaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAudGhlZ3VhcmRpYW4uY29tL2J1c2luZXNzLzIwMjMvb2N0LzI3L3NhbS1iYW5rbWFuLWZyaWVkLXRlc3RpbW9ueS1mdHgtY3J5cHRvY3VycmVuY3ktdHJpYWw
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