Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) faced the jury today
(Friday) and acknowledged the widespread fallout when the cryptocurrency
exchange FTX, which he co-founded, crumbled.
BBC reported that the 31-year-old entrepreneur,
accused of deceiving investors and embezzling customer funds, opened up about
his actions and decisions that led to this point. “A lot of people got
hurt, customers, employees, and the company ended up in bankruptcy,” he
added.
Throughout his testimony at the Manhattan federal
court, SBF admitted to making a series of errors, both minor and significant,
while managing the now-defunct exchange . He identified the absence of a
dedicated risk management team as one of his most critical oversights.
Despite the allegations against him, SBF maintained
his innocence, asserting that he never defrauded anyone or misappropriated
customer funds.
In an unusual hearing, SBF began testifying after
the jury had been dismissed for the day. US District Judge Lewis Kaplan
requested a preview of his testimony regarding the role of lawyers in key
decisions to determine its admissibility as evidence.
SBF has consistently claimed that he acted
based on legal advice, a stance contested by prosecutors who accuse him of
misusing FTX customer funds for personal gain. Judge Kaplan ruled against
allowing testimony about the lawyers’ involvement in various loans made to SBF
and other policies, deeming it…
