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- 1 The opening statement of the prosecutor in Bankman Fried’s trial is “He poured people’s money to make himself even richer.”
- 2 Sam Bankman Fried’s defense team countered – the FTX founder acted in good faith
The U.S. Department of Justice started with the opening statement that the FTX founder Sam Bankman Fried’s entire crypto empire was a house of cards built on lies. The defense lawyer opposed it and said that the FTX founder acted in good faith, his business grew too quickly and shattered dramatically without any fault of his.
The defense lawyer also assigned some of the blame to Caroline Ellison, one of his former employees, that she failed to install safeguards. Ellison has already pleaded guilty and will give evidence during the trial.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan Rehn told a 12-person Jury that to prove that the FTX founder is guilty and the government will provide sufficient proof. He lied to his customers and used their money to get money, power, and influence. He added that he utilized other people’s money in his investment and used it in all sorts of ways.
But the defense lawyer said that the intention of the former founder of FTX and Almeda Research was never to steal customers’ money, he was deluged with the fast growth of this business.
Prosecutor and Defense Lawyers Argued on This Matter
Mark Cohen, the defense lead added that Sam Bankman never planned to steal the money and acted in “good faith” and “he didn’t defraud anyone.”
Rehn argued that the company told customers that the money they put was right there and they were sitting right there. Instead, they have transferred their money to Almeda Research which is a smaller company, and used them for his luxuries, his friends, and family members.
He also stated that Bankman-Fried used the money to make donations that would allow him to gain favor from the powerful people on Capitol Hill. He said “The defendant has taken billions of dollars from the account and he spent it and customers have no way to know.”
Rehn said that Bankman-Fried had taken $10 Billion from the FTX and transferred it to sister company Almeda Research in May-June last year 2022 and attempted to orchestrate a coverup by ordering the creation of false financial statements.
The defense lawyer further argued that the government was taking things out of context and that Bankman-Fried was not a thief and he was someone who worked hard. Mark Cohen added that his company grew very fast and he had to make several decisions in a single day. He added “ No CEO and certainly not Sam could be anywhere and do everything.”
Summary
The prosecutor in the Sam Bankman-Fried trial claimed that his company is built on lies, that he (SBF) used the public money for his benefit. He transferred the customer’s deposited amount in his company to the sister company Alameda Research and to hide his acts and prepared the false financial statements.
The allegations were opposed by the defense lawyers. Mark Cohen said that Banman Fried’s intention was never wrong. Defense argued that the company grew at an unprecedented pace and that he was not responsible for making all decisions.
Adarsh Singh is a true connoisseur of Defi and Blockchain technologies, who left his job at a “Big 4” multinational finance firm to pursue crypto and NFT trading full-time. He has a strong background in finance, with MBA from a prestigious B-school. He delves deep into these innovative fields, unraveling their intricacies. Uncovering hidden gems, be it coins, tokens or NFTs, is his expertise. NFTs drive deep interest for him, and his creative analysis of NFTs opens up engaging narratives. He strives to bring decentralized digital assets accessible to the masses.
