Sam Bankman-Fried protection rests in prison trial, jury choice nears

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s destiny is now within the fingers of the 12 jurors who’ve spent the previous 4 weeks sitting simply ft away from the previous crypto billionaire in a decrease Manhattan courtroom.

After three days on the stand, Bankman-Fried’s testimony wrapped up Tuesday morning and the protection rested its case shortly earlier than midday. The jury was despatched dwelling, so the decide can resolve within the charging directions what’s admissible earlier than jurors start their deliberations. Closing arguments will begin on Wednesday.

Bankman-Fried, 31, faces a possible life sentence if convicted on fraud costs tied to the collapse of crypto alternate FTX and sister hedge fund Alameda Analysis late final 12 months. He pleaded not responsible.

Tuesday’s session started with cross-examination from Assistant U.S. Legal professional Danielle Sassoon, who has led the prosecution through the four-week trial. Sassoon started by questioning Bankman-Fried’s relationship with Philip Davis, prime minister of the Bahamas, which was dwelling to FTX and Bankman-Fried’s inside circle.

Bankman-Fried was requested if he’d proposed paying off greater than $11 billion in nationwide debt for the Bahamas, and he responded by saying he did not bear in mind discussing the matter. Sassoon additionally talked about how Bankman-Fried would joke that Ryan Salame, a former FTX government, was successfully a member of the Bahamian authorities.

Sassoon requested concerning the prime minister’s go to to Miami and attending a Warmth basketball recreation on the area that carried the FTX title, and whether or not he and his spouse got courtside seats. She additionally talked about FTX’s opening up buyer withdrawals just for Bahamians. As with a lot of the questioning by the federal government, Bankman-Fried stated little, did not admit to something and regularly responded by saying he did not know.

Sassoon once more requested Bankman-Fried about the important thing situation within the case — the $8 billion gap in FTX’s stability sheet. Bankman-Fried stated he “deeply” regretted not taking a deeper have a look at it. When he requested his deputies about it, Bankman-Fried testified that they “instructed me they had been busy and I ought to cease asking questions as a result of it was distracting.”

With no different important witnesses representing the protection, Bankman-Fried is banking on his capacity to persuade the jury that he wasn’t deliberately siphoning buyer funds out of FTX to make use of for a bunch of different functions, together with masking Alameda’s losses, paying for his luxurious rental within the Bahamas, enterprise investments and the naming rights for the Miami area.

In his first two days on the stand, Bankman-Fried instructed the courtroom that he did not defraud anybody or take buyer funds. He stated one central drawback was an absence of a danger administration crew, which led to “important oversights.” Past that, he unfold the blame round to a number of of his former mates and high lieutenants, a few of whom testified towards him earlier as witnesses for the prosecution.

Sassoon ended her questioning on Tuesday at about 10:40 a.m. Mark Cohen, Bankman-Fried’s protection legal professional, then spent a brief period of time along with his redirect examination.

Cohen revisited articles that stemmed from Bankman-Fried’s press interviews after Nov. 11. Bankman-Fried estimated he gave round 50 interviews and did not have entry to any inside paperwork. He stated he did not bear in mind each assertion he made to journalists.

One notable remark he made was to Vox in mid-November. In a textual content alternate with the reporter, Bankman-Fried wrote “F— regulators.” Bankman-Fried testified that he was rising pissed off with regulators and skeptical about what they had been doing. He stated he felt all of the work he’d achieved might need inspired dangerous regulation as a lot nearly as good regulation.

After the mid-morning break, Cohen requested Bankman-Fried to make clear a number of issues. He requested why the defendant hadn’t fired anybody when the $8 billion legal responsibility had been found. Bankman-Fried stated he wasn’t notably eager about blaming others and was as a substitute concentrate on methods to get issues circled and shifting ahead.

Relating to the $65 billion line of credit score to Alameda, Bankman-Fried stated that was the utmost withdrawal dimension however it was by no means close to that quantity. He stated it was sometimes round $2 billion.

Lastly, following points raised by the prosecution about Bankman-Fried’s extreme use of a personal jet, the defendant stated he thought it was a legitimate expense as CEO. He testified that he wasn’t utilizing it for private journey, and that it was logistically troublesome to fly from the Bahamas to Washington D.C., the place he estimated he spent greater than a month in whole.

With the jury gone for the remainder of the day and shutting arguments set to start on Wednesday, Bankman-Fried is now out of alternatives to persuade the 12 jurors that he does not deserve a prolonged jail sentence. Deliberations will begin after closing arguments.

— CNBC’s Daybreak Giel contributed to this report

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