Federal prosecutors in Manhattan final month stated Bankman-Fried stole billions of {dollars} from FTX clients to pay money owed for his crypto-focused hedge fund, Alameda Research, buy lavish actual property, and donate to U.S. political campaigns.
He has pleaded not responsible.
“I didn’t steal funds, and I certainly didn’t stash billions away,” Bankman-Fried wrote within the weblog revealed on Substack, in a uncommon public assertion by a U.S. legal defendant.
Defense legal professionals usually advise shoppers to remain silent earlier than trial as a result of prosecutors could use their feedback in opposition to them in courtroom. His trial is scheduled to start out on Oct. 2, 2023.
A spokesman for Bankman-Fried declined to remark.
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In the submit, Bankman-Fried didn’t straight deal with most of the different fees introduced in opposition to him by federal prosecutors in Manhattan final month, specifically that he misled traders and lenders concerning the monetary situations of FTX and Alameda. He wrote that Alameda didn’t hedge in opposition to an “extreme” crash within the crypto markets, which in the end got here to go final 12 months.
“As Alameda grew to become illiquid, FTX International did as nicely, as a result of Alameda had a margin place open on FTX,” Bankman-Fried wrote.
The 30-year-old onetime billionaire additionally stated FTX’s U.S. wing is “fully solvent” and that its worldwide unit has many billions of {dollars} in belongings.
“If it were to reboot I believe there is a real chance that customers could be made substantially whole,” he wrote.
Last month, two of his closest associates pleaded responsible to defrauding the buying and selling platform’s clients and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors’ investigation.
Caroline Ellison, Alameda’s former chief government, stated in her plea listening to that Bankman-Fried and different FTX executives obtained billions of {dollars} in secret loans from Alameda.
Bankman-Fried was launched on a $250 million bond in December and put below home arrest at his dad and mom’ Palo Alto, California residence, which was pledged as collateral for his return to courtroom.