[ad_1]
The trial of embattled crypto executive Sam Bankman-Fried has begun – with prosecutors claiming he stole more than $10bn (£8.2bn) from unsuspecting customers.
Almost a year after FTX spectacularly collapsed, leaving millions of people out of pocket, a court heard that the 31-year-old’s multibillion-dollar empire was “built on lies”.
Bankman-Fried has been accused of using customer funds to make risky bets at sister trading firm Alameda Research – with a huge black hole in the company’s finances emerging when crypto markets suffered a sharp downturn.
FTX abruptly halted withdrawals last November and subsequently went bankrupt, prompting desperate efforts to recoup funds on behalf of victims.
The fallen entrepreneur – the son of two Stanford law professors – has also been accused of concealing crimes by backdating documents and deleting messages.
But during opening statements at a federal court in New York, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers described him as a “math nerd who didn’t drink or party” – a man who had acted in good faith.
Mark Cohen told the jury: “There was no theft. Sam didn’t defraud anyone. Sam didn’t intend to defraud anyone.”
The defence painted a picture of a businessman who was spread too thin, adding: “It is not a crime to be a CEO of a company that filed for bankruptcy.”
Read more:
Who is the ‘King of Crypto’?
Bankman-Fried ‘subsisting on bread and water’
The rise and fall of Sam Bankman-Fried
Sam Bankman-Fried watches as his defence lawyer Mark Cohen makes his opening remarks in a court sketch
A…
[ad_2]
