The criminal trial involving Sam "SBF" Bankman-Fried, the founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, is reaching its conclusion as it enters the stage of closing arguments on November 1. The development comes after a denial of the lead defense attorney Mark Cohen's request for acquittal, as decided by presiding judge Lewis Kaplan. With all the discovery phase concluded, the case is set to proceed to closing arguments on November 1 at 9:30 a.m. ET (1:30 p.m. UTC), with no further witnesses scheduled to be called by either side.
SBF has pleaded not guilty to all seven charges related to fraud in the ongoing criminal trial. However, he is expected to face five additional charges in a second trial scheduled to commence in March 2024, including allegations of passing information to a Chinese government official and involvement in $150 million worth of bribes.
During the trial, prosecutor Danielle Sassoon presented evidence in the form of documents, tweets, and company information to support the claim that SBF misappropriated $8 billion in FTX client deposits to finance high-risk trades for his hedge fund, Alameda Research. In response, SBF argued that this conduct did not constitute fraud but was a "risk management" practice necessary for Alameda's investment portfolio and aligned with company policies. Several key FTX personnel, including Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison, FTX CTO Gary Wang, and former FTX engineering director Nishad Singh, have pleaded guilty to charges related to the collapse of the exchange in November of the previous year. They are now cooperating with the U.S. government and providing testimony regarding the allegations against SBF. If convicted, Bankman-Fried could face a sentence of up to 115 years in prison.
