Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is fighting to defend the
legitimacy of FTX’s investments. His lawyer has argued that these investments
were not “reckless and frivolous,” countering former executive Nishad
Singh’s portrayal of excessive spending on marketing and celebrity
endorsements, Reuters reported.
Singh, FTX’s former Chief Technology Engineer,
testified for a second consecutive day in SBF’s fraud trial at the Manhattan
federal court today (Wednesday). Under cross-examination, Singh stated that he
thought FTX could handle its challenges after discovering a shortfall of $13
billion in customer funds shortfall in September 2022.
FTX declared bankruptcy on November 11, 2022, and
Singh had previously testified that the company’s venture investments and
substantial marketing deals “reeked of excess and flashiness.”
However, SBF‘s defense lawyer, Mark Cohen, raised the question of whether
promoting FTX’s brand had business benefits, to which Singh acknowledged that
it had both benefits and costs.
In previous testimony, Singh expressed concerns
about a deal with an investment firm called K5, which SBF had described as a
“one-stop shop” for celebrity relationships. However, Singh later
acknowledged that K5 facilitated SBF’s investment in a tequila brand run by a
“famous celebrity.”
The trial’s latest developments hint at a complex
legal battle. FTX’s current management had previously filed a lawsuit…
