In a extremely uncommon post-arrest blogpost a month after his arrest, he mentioned he ‘didn’t stash billions away’.
Sam Bankman-Fried has mentioned he didn't steal cash and blamed the collapse of his now-bankrupt FTX change on a broad crash in cryptocurrency markets, in a extremely uncommon weblog put up, a month after his arrest on US fraud prices.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan in December mentioned Bankman-Fried stole billions of dollars from FTX clients to pay money owed for his cryptocurrency-focused hedge fund, Alameda Analysis, purchase lavish actual property, and donate to US political campaigns.
He has pleaded not responsible. The Substack weblog put up – a uncommon public assertion by a US legal defendant – quantities to a preview of the defence case Bankman-Fried might current when his trial begins on October 2.
“I didn’t steal funds, and I definitely didn’t stash billions away,” Bankman-Fried wrote.
Defence attorneys usually advise shoppers to remain silent earlier than trial as a result of prosecutors might use their feedback towards them in courtroom.
A spokesman for Bankman-Fried declined to remark. A spokesman for the US Legal professional’s Workplace in Manhattan declined to remark.
Within the put up, Bankman-Fried didn't straight tackle lots of the different prices introduced towards him by federal prosecutors in Manhattan final month, specifically that he misled buyers and lenders concerning the monetary situations of FTX and Alameda. He wrote that he had “much more to say”.
The 30-year-old onetime billionaire wrote that Alameda didn't hedge towards an “excessive” crash within the cryptocurrency markets, which in the end got here to go final yr.
“As Alameda grew to become illiquid, FTX Worldwide did as nicely, as a result of Alameda had a margin place open on FTX,” Bankman-Fried wrote.
Final month, two of his closest associates pleaded responsible to defrauding the buying and selling platform’s clients and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors’ investigation.
Caroline Ellison, Alameda’s former chief government, mentioned in her plea listening to that Bankman-Fried and different FTX executives acquired billions of dollars in secret loans from Alameda.
Bankman-Fried was launched on a $250m bond in December and put below home arrest at his dad and mom’ Palo Alto, California residence, which was pledged as collateral for his return to courtroom.
‘Greatest restoration situation’
Within the put up, Bankman-Fried additionally mentioned FTX’s US wing is “totally solvent” and that its worldwide unit has many billions of dollars in property.
“If it had been to reboot I consider there's a actual probability that clients could possibly be made considerably complete,” he wrote.
The feedback got here after a lawyer for FTX on Wednesday advised a federal chapter courtroom in Delaware that the change had positioned greater than $5bn in liquid property, and that the corporate plans to promote nonstrategic investments that had a guide worth of $4.6bn.
That didn't embrace property seized by the Securities Fee of the Bahamas, the place FTX was based mostly and the place Bankman-Fried lived earlier than he was extradited to the USA. Bahamian authorities mentioned they've seized $3.5bn, however FTX says these funds are price as little as $170m.
On Wednesday night time, Bankman-Fried replied on Twitter to a person named @wassielawyer who mentioned a sale of the FTX change was viable. “yup my sense is that's and at all times has been one of the best restoration situation for patrons,” wrote Bankman-Fried.
FTX declared chapter on November 11, the identical day Bankman-Fried stepped down as chief government officer.
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