FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty on Tuesday in a New York court, where the judge set the trial against the former crypto mogul to begin in the fall.
US District Judge Lewis Kaplan decided during Tuesday’s hearing that the Bankman-Fried trial would begin on October 2 this year. It is estimated that the trial could last for about four weeks.
According to Reuters, Bankman-Fried did not speak to the judge herself during the court appearance, but spoke privately to her lawyers. report good,
In speaking during the hearing, however, federal prosecutor Daniel Sassoon made it clear that he believed Bankman-Fried was guilty, and that he was responsible for misappropriating customer funds on FTX.
“customers were money” […] Used and laundered through political donations, charitable donations and a variety of venture investments,” Sassoon said, indicating that the government has plenty of evidence against the former crypto exchange boss.
Bankman-Fried could face up to 115 years in prison if convicted at trial. He has previously admitted wrongdoing during his time as head of FTX, but denied any criminal liability.
Videos circulating online show chaos outside the New York courtroom as Bankman-Fried arrives:
new bond terms
Apart from setting a date for the start of the trial, the judge also took the opportunity to impose new conditions Bankman-Fried’s record $250m bail,
Under the updated terms, the FTX founder is not allowed access to assets belonging to FTX or affiliated trading firm Alameda Research, which some speculated he had secret access to. According to prosecutors, the transfer of assets from Almeida after the collapse is already being investigated, although there is no evidence that the transfers were made by Bankman-Fried.
At Tuesday’s court hearing, Bankman-Fried’s attorney Mark Cohen said his client “did not” make the transfers. following Bankman-Fried’s comments from December, when he explained he no longer has access to moneysaying:
“I believe it is likely that various legal legs of FTX have the ability to access these funds; hopefully that is what is happening here. If not, hopefully there will be a move to do so soon. I Will be happy to help advise regulators on this. If anyone wants.”
Unknown identity of bond co-signers
During the latest court appearance, the judge granted Bankman-Fried’s request to redact the names of two co-signers on the $250 million bond.
Bankman-Fried’s parents have already received threats, according to lawyers, and the move to keep the names of the other co-signers secret is reportedly an attempt to avoid the same happening to them.
ordered to stay at parents’ home
Under the original bail conditions, Bankman-Fried must remain at her parents’ home in California, where she will remain under electronic monitoring.
The home, whose equity was used as part of the collateral for the bail, is described as “a comfortable residence on the edge of the Stanford University campus in Palo Alto, California.”
Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas – where his exchange was headquartered – on 13 December. In the beginning he was the infamous fox hill detention centerbefore being extradited to the United States and released on bail.
Bitcoin Crypto Related Post