SBF Trial, Day 16: In Final Cross Examination, SBF Gets Caught Again by His Own Words

For a second, consecutive day, prosecutors pounded away at Sam Bankman-Fried’s credibility, asking the former FTX CEO to explain his obliviousness about how Alameda had spent $8 billion of FTX customer funds.

Prosecutors and the defense both rested their cases on Day 16 of the high-profile trial. Both sides will make their closing arguments on Wednesday and jurors could begin deliberating the following day. 

While Bankman-Fried claimed that he thought “it was permissible” for Alameda to use FTX customers’ fiat deposits, he also admitted that he didn’t tell his employees not to spend that money or create measures to segregate FTX customer funds from Alameda’s.

Prosecutor Danielle Sassoon also grilled him on why he didn’t look into who had spent the FTX customer money. “So it’s your testimony that while you were CEO of Alameda some unknown people spent $8 billion without your knowledge?” prosecutor Danielle Sassoon asked Bankman-Fried, who replied that he didn’t agree that was his testimony.

Bankman-Fried later said that he had asked former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison to explain the $8 billion in spending but did not fire anyone. Under subsequent defense questioning, Bankman-Fried said that he had wanted to look ahead.

Earlier in the day, Sassoon had honed in on Bankman-Fried’s allegedly close relationship with government officials in the Bahamas, and presented an email in which he said that the company had “segregated funds for all Bahamian customers on FTX and that it would be “more than happy to open up withdrawals for all Bahamian customers on FTX.” The communication came Nov. 9, 2022, a few days after FTX had halted customer withdrawals as awareness of its financial problems grew. 

Catch up on Unchained’s previous coverage: 

• SBF Trial, Day 1: Possible Witnesses Include FTX Insiders, Big Names in Crypto, and SBF’s Family
• SBF Trial, Day 2: DOJ Says Sam Bankman-Fried ‘Lied’ While Defense Claims His Actions Were ‘Reasonable’
• SBF Trial, Day 3: Why a True Believer in FTX Flipped Once He Learned One Fact
• SBF Trial, Day 4: SBF’s Lawyers Annoy Judge Kaplan, While Wang Reveals Alameda’s Special Privileges
• SBF Trial, Day 5: SBF's Defense Finally Found Its Legs, But Can It Counter Caroline Ellison?
• SBF Trial, Day 6: Caroline Ellison Recalls 'The Worst Week of My Life'
• SBF Trial, Day 7: In SBF Trial, Did the Defense Lose Its Opportunity With the Star Witness?
• SBF Trial, Day 8: Former BlockFi CEO Adds Credibility to Fraud Charges
• SBF Trial, Day 9: Nishad Singh Describes Former FTX CEO as a Bully and Big Spender
• SBF Trial, Day 10: Defense Struggles to Discredit Nishad Singh's Testimony
• SBF Trial, Day 11: How Alameda Got FTX Into a $9 Billion Hole
• SBF Trial, Day 12: Former FTX General Counsel Speaks Out Against SBF
• SBF Trial, Day 14: Sam Bankman-Fried Casts Blame on Others for Key Decisions at FTX
• SBF Trial, Day 15: Prosecutors Hammer Bankman-Fried’s Contradictions With Reams of Evidence
• Did Sam Bankman-Fried Have Intent to Defraud FTX Investors?
• Why These Lawyers Say It's Over for SBF-But His Only Hail Mary Is to Testify
• Here’s How Sam Bankman-Fried’s High-Stakes Trial Could Play Out
• SBF Trial: How Sam Bankman-Fried’s Lawyers Might Try and Win His Case
• The High-Stakes Trial of Sam Bankman-Fried Begins: What to Expect

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