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The trial will end with closing arguments on Wednesday before the jury deliberates
As Sam Bankman - Fried took the stand for the last time in his trial for fraud and money laundering , his chief lawyer , Mark Cohen , returned to question him on a issue of report that prosecutors touched on in the past few days . But this time , he postulate a different approach , presenting the suspect as a individual who was acting in proficient faith .
“ We know and died by having a better product than competitors , ” Bankman - Fried say of hisnow - belly-up crypto rally , FTX . Bankman - Fried own bulk wager in both FTX and its babe trading business firm , Alameda Research , but importune he want the good for both .
Bankman - Fried has beentestifying since Thursday afternoon , and the criminal prosecution has grill him for the preceding few day aspart of their cross - examen . On Tuesday , when the defense lawyers returned to reexamine him , he was swaying slightly on the stand , shoulders pass down and forward . He spoke quietly , but was more talkative than sooner in the day and on Monday when he was being questioned .
obstinate to the picture prosecutor try on to paint , Bankman - Fried insisted that he was not involved in the day - to - Clarence Shepard Day Jr. trading operations of Alameda or its “ core surgical procedure , ” but alternatively emphasized his vexation for its leaders at the time , enunciate he wanted to be involve in many of its venture investment funds , decisions on hedging , and other areas .
When expect about Alameda ’s “ borrowing ” of FTX customers ’ cash in hand , Bankman - Fried say it “ seems like Alameda did increase its borrowing to reward lenders ” like Genesis , which gave loan in summer 2022 , when the crypto manufacture was in agitation . Cohen did n’t call for any doubt about what that “ borrowing ” imply .
Sam Bankman - Fried says he did n’t defraud FTX customers or take their store
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Cohen also brought up the time period in September and October 2022 , when Alameda hoard an $ 8 billion liability by taking client funds . When ask if he had spent the money , Bankman - Fried denied it , saying , “ I do n’t roll in the hay how I ’d define an answer on who pass that money . ”
“ investment firm were being deposit and withdrawn constantly , ” he allege . “ Money is fungible anyways . . . I was n’t interested in adjudicate to [ stir ] up incrimination . ”
FTX EXEC blew through $ 8B — testimony reveals how
The offspring was the scale of Alameda ’s liabilities , Bankman - Fried explained . It was a “ sign ” that the scale of borrowing by the trading theater was large , even for Alameda and FTX , he say , lend that he then got more involved in Alameda even though the two entity were supposed to be separate . The risk had to be managed , because if Alameda was underwater , it affected FTX , he said .
When his attorney was questioning him , Bankman - Fried spoke in his more well - know style : restive , cheerful , ready to answer , and eager to start a sentence before finish the last one .
Cohen also brought up FTX ’s massive$65 billion strain of creditto Alameda . “ I understand [ it ] to be a terminus ad quem , ” Bankman - Fried said , adding that “ Alameda never used anything close to that [ amount ] , ” and typically used about $ 2 billion in 2022 .
But agree to evidence pass on by the government , $ 2 billion is still 1,233 % higher than the second - high course of deferred payment for another market Jehovah on FTX , which has $ 150 million .
The defense also get up the prosecution ’s argument from Monday : that Bankman - Fried had spent the company ’s money frivolously on private jet . Assistant U.S. lawyer for the Southern District of New York Danielle Sassoon on Monday argued that the company had spent $ 15 million on individual jet locomotion , and Bankman - Fried had replied that he could n’t recall it happening . The pursuance had also highlighted a exposure of Bankman - Fried asleep in a jet , and when Cohen brought it up again , Bankman - Fried joke that it was a “ very flattering ” picture , adding that he only used the private jet for “ valid business expenses , bet on the context of use . ”
By 11:55 ante meridiem , the defense rested its case . The prosecutors did not provide a rebuttal subject , and Judge Lewis Kaplan concluded the presentation of evidence for the case .
Cohen renewed his motion for an acquittal , which Kaplan denied . The panel will be back Wednesday morning for closure statement .
