Sam "SBF" Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX, will testify as part of the defense in his ongoing criminal trial, according to his attorney, Mark Cohen. During an October 25 conference call involving SBF's attorneys, prosecutors, and Judge Lewis Kaplan, Cohen revealed that after the prosecution concludes its case presentation on October 26, the defense plans to call three witnesses, including Bankman-Fried. Judge Kaplan agreed to proceed without a break on October 26, moving directly from the prosecution's last witness to the defense's first.
The defense doesn't anticipate spending more than three days questioning these potential witnesses. These witnesses include a Bahamian lawyer, Joseph Pimbley of the litigation consultancy PF2 Securities, and a lawyer who filed a lawsuit against SBF, possibly a former FTX employee. Excluding SBF's testimony, the defense presentations are estimated to take about an hour.
The U.S. government is expected to wrap up its case against SBF on the morning of October 26, and the defense's portion may conclude the following day. Prosecutors indicated that they weren't certain whether they needed to rebut SBF's testimony, and closing arguments may be scheduled for October 31. Judge Kaplan also raised the possibility of a special ruling in the case, which would involve the jury providing findings on factual issues but not specifying which side should win.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas Roos emphasized that the government's case is built on the theory that SBF made false statements, creating a relationship of trust with depositors and taking their money. Bankman-Fried's testimony is expected to follow statements from former FTX and Alameda executives who admitted to committing crimes, often under SBF's direction. These crimes were linked to the misuse of FTX funds without clients' knowledge.
It remains uncertain what information Bankman-Fried might offer in his testimony to counter the accounts given by other witnesses so far. The trial, which had been on hiatus since October 19, is set to resume on October 26.
