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It ’s week four ofSam Bankman - Fried ’s test , and on Thursday the former FTX CEO took the outdoor stage to bear witness on his own behalf . Bankman - Fried is being charged with seven counts of fraud and money laundering at the Southern District of New York courthouse .
During Margaret Court , Bankman - Fried wore an oversized gray-headed suit and a purple tie . He go far at the courthouse around 9:30 a.m. , with his hands fold in front of him , nodding at those he made oculus contact with . Throughout the morning , Bankman - Fried seemed relaxed , turn around to face the back of the court and occasionally smiling at his lawyer .
This grade the 2nd time Bankman - Fried has spoken out in public in the courtroom after enunciate yeson the first dayin response to Judge Lewis Kaplan asking if he translate he had the right to attest if he require to .
His first word spoken on the stand Thursday were : “ Good afternoon . ”
Once on the stand , Bankman - Fried was overstrung and quick to respond to the enquiry his defence lawyer , Mark Cohen , was asking . But when it came clock time for Danielle Sassoon , assistant U.S. lawyer for the SDNY , to span - examine , he was slower to respond and tell he could n’t call up many of the facts .
One of the region Kaplan wanted to hear about was Bankman - Fried bank onlegal counselto rough drawing terms of service and data retention policies , which include using Signal to apportion internal communication .
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Bankman - Fried tell the “ big picture takeaway ” for these policies was that specific data like KYC ( know your client ) policies , regulatory mandate , compliance and conventional accounting required retention . But not elements like muster in incorrect residuum tack , which Caroline Ellisontestifiedabout weeks earlier .
But before in the trial , Adam Yedidia , a former FTX employee , testified that Bankman - Fried say keeping content was “ all downside . ” When asked about this during the cross - examination , he say he did n’t recall that conversation and that he “ did n’t have that view with all company messages , ” only some in especial .
“ I do n’t have any cognition that I did ” violate datum retention insurance policy , Bankman - Fried aver .
Bankman - Fried continuously pointed to FTX ’s lawyers as the people responsible for these policy , and he did n’t have the ability to see everything all the clock time . He say that sometimes things were put on his desk , and he would just signal them , assume they were in good religion .
As for Bankman - Fried autodeleting various chats in which he was involve , hetestified that he believe he was following company policy because those chats were “ not formal business groove , ” and were “ for chatter , for conversation . ”
Once the troupe collapsed in November 2022 , Bankman - Fried tell he remove the autodelete function from a phone number of Signal Old World chat for a “ diverseness of reasons ” and “ take an effort to handicap ” the feature article with confab he receive messages in or any others that he “ thought of . ”
When Kaplan asked Bankman - Fried where a compose written matter of the data point retention insurance was , he was soundless and looked to Cohen for guidance . The silence was meet by Kaplan stating , “ Let ’s move on . ” During the cross - testing , the question of where the write policy was arose again ; Bankman - Fried tell his defense team was ineffectual to get the insurance from FTX , since he ’s no longer a part of the companionship .
Throughout the three time of day of inquiring , Bankman - Fried looked direct ahead , sometimes peek around the court . His female parent , Barbara Fried , take notes , while Michael Lewis , the author of “ Going Infinite , ” which is about Bankman - Fried , sat two rows back with his arms crossed over the bench in front of him . He did n’t take many notes and mostly stared at Bankman - Fried , occasionally glancing at the proctor to watch evidence brought up .
As for the company’sterms of armed service , Bankman - Fried said he only “ take part in astuteness ” and other section he just “ skimmed over . ” When call for if he conceive Alameda could borrow client funds from FTX , he respond , “ Yes , in many circumstance , ” based on the terms of service .
Later on , prosecutor asked whether Alameda was permitted to expend FTX customer funds , to which he replied , “ I would n’t phrase it that way , but yes . ”
Bankman - Fried also suppose he was aware of some “ speed bumps ” on Alameda ’s score , but “ not the exact nature , ” when it come to its extra privileges . “ I wish I could tell you more , but I do n’t recall cognize more about it , ” he said .
observer in the courtroom seemed to grit their teeth at Bankman - Fried ’s answer , and small rounds of snigger filled the silence after Bankman - Fried say that he did not call back certain major details about FTX and Alameda . Kaplan quip that the “ witness has an interesting way of responding to questions . ”
At the end of the day , Sassoon ask the suspect about FTX general counselor-at-law Daniel Friedberg ’s employment and why Bankman - Fried had lease him . He respond that he was “ reluctant to charter the untimely general counsel , ” to which Sassoon take whether he hired Friedberg because he let him do what he want . Bankman - Fried smirked and said , “ I need a oecumenical pleader [ who was ] OK with reasonable endangerment . ”
Three hours into her son ’s hearing , Barbara Fried bet up at the ceiling and leaned against Bankman - Fried ’s father , Joseph Bankman . She continued to take notes .
Earlier in the Clarence Day , Cohen requested a apparent motion for acquittal on all seven counts against his customer , calling the government ’s vitrine on the charges “ insufficient ” with “ materiality not shown . ” Prosecutors oppose the apparent motion , and Kaplan declined it .
Two other attestator , a Bahamian attorney and a “ advisor for fiscal issues , ” took the stand on behalf of the defense ’s subject in the first place in the Clarence Day .
Over the last four weeks , people in Bankman - Fried ’s inner circle also took the stand ; FTX co - founder and CTOGary Wang , Alameda CEOCaroline Ellisonand FTX fountainhead of engineeringNishad Singhall testified as part of their plea deals with the government .
Investors , let in upper direction atParadigmandThird Pointas well as retail investor , also testified about how their investment in FTX were wiped out .
