As expected, Sam Bankman Fried, the boss of the FTX Exchange went before the judges the day before yesterday, Tuesday, January 3, 2023. Facing eight different charges, the former cryptocurrency mogul preferred to play innocent, he indeed pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him in the New York court.
SBF does not intend to assume the consequences of his actions!
Charged with theft of cryptocurrencies and suspected money laundering, Sam was arrested in the Bahamas. He regained his freedom upon arrival in the United States, after posting a $250 million bail.
At the arraignment hearing at the Manhattan courthouse, the accused Sam Bankman Fried categorically denied all eight counts to which he was charged.
As a reminder, the U.S. Department of Justice is prosecuting SBF for using money from FTX Exchange customers to:
- Supporting his hedge fund Alameda Research;
- Purchasing real estate;
- Making political donations.
- Sam Bankman Fried faces up to 115 years in prison if convicted, however, he said he does not believe he has any criminal liability.
However, he acknowledges that he made mistakes while he was CEO of FTX.
Sam Bankman Fried is not off the hook
During the hearing, Judge Kaplan added a new condition to Sam’s bail. From now on, the FTX boss is not allowed to access FTX or Alameda assets.
The warning comes after Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office representative Danielle Sassoon accused SBF of seeking to transfer assets to a foreign country. She also said that justice is investigating reports of Alameda funds being fraudulently switched. However, she added that there is no hard evidence yet.
The mere words of SBF are not enough to clear him, it will indeed be necessary for his lawyers to present a solid case to convince the jury… And the victims of the collapse of FTX!
For their part, Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda, and Gary Wang, the co-founder of FTX, have both pleaded guilty. They have also guaranteed their full cooperation with the justice system in order to benefit from the clemency of the judges.
If the two relatives manage to testify against Sam, he will probably not have a chance to get away with it. The justice could have access to information usable against him. Until the next trial scheduled for October 2, 2023, Sam is completely free, safe and sound under the parental roof.
As a journalist at Coinpri, I’ve been captivated by the world of bitcoin and blockchain since 2020. The decentralized aspect of Bitcoin particularly piqued my interest. Since then, I’ve been working constantly to spread my knowledge, hoping one day to see a world where everyone fully enjoys their financial freedom.
