FTX Was ‘Safe,’ Evasive Answers, ‘Crazy’ Hair: SBF Testimony
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2023-10-31 17:51
FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried will likely finish testifying in his criminal fraud trial Tuesday, giving federal prosecutors their

FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried will likely finish testifying in his criminal fraud trial Tuesday, giving federal prosecutors their last chance to grill the onetime King of Crypto about the spectacular collapse of his business empire and billions of dollars in customer losses.

While Bankman-Fried appeared confident and sure of his answers when he was questioned on the stand by his defense lawyers, his demeanor slowly dissolved after Assistant US Attorney Danielle Sassoon got her chance Monday. He evaded many of Sassoon’s queries under cross-examination and ultimately acknowledged he was aware or involved in key decisions at the FTX cryptocurrency exchange.

The case against Bankman-Fried centers on allegedly fraudulent transfers of billions in FTX customer funds to an affiliated hedge fund, Alameda Research. Government lawyers will get a few more hours Tuesday, Bankman-Fried’s third day before a New York jury, to attempt to highlight inconsistencies in his defense.

Bankman-Fried will be the last defense witness, and his lawyers will rest their case as soon as Tuesday. The government may present two more witnesses, including an FBI agent and an Apollo employee, before the case goes into closing statements and is finally handed to the jury for deliberations.

Here are the main takeaways from Bankman-Fried’s testimony Monday:

Read More: SBF Admits to a Bigger Role at Alameda Under Tough Questioning

Author: Chris Dolmetsch, Yueqi Yang and Ava Benny-Morrison

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