The founder and former CEO of the collapsed FTX crypto exchange, Sam Bankman-Fried, invited a team of BBC journalists to his residential complex in the Bahamas. The BBC team was invited for a rare interview in which SBF shared that he had been thinking of solutions to make FTX users whole.

‘I’m going to be thinking about how we can help the world, and if users haven’t gotten much back, I’m going to be thinking about what I can do for them. And I think at the very least I have a duty to FTX users to do right by them as best as I can,’ he told BBC.

When asked whether he intended to start a new venture to earn enough to pay back FTX users whose funds were locked on the exchange, he said, ‘I would give anything to be able to do that. And I’m going to try if I can.’

I Didn’t Knowingly Commit Fraud — Sam Bankman-Fried

The BBC interview also covered allegations that Sam Bankman-Fried knowingly misused customer funds by mingling them with Alameda’s. He explained that he is aware that, as CEO, he was singlehandedly responsible for any mishandling of funds. But he did not knowingly commit fraud.

‘I didn’t knowingly commit fraud,’ he stated. ‘I don’t think I committed fraud, I didn’t want any of this to happen. I was certainly not nearly as competent as I thought I was.’

There is a Possibility of Prison Time for SBF

Considering the legal implications of what transpired at FTX, Mr Bankman-Fried is aware that there is a possibility of getting arrested and serving time in prison. The BBC team inquired whether he was preparing for such an eventuality, to which SBF responded that he is trying to be as productive as possible and ignore that he cannot control.

He said, ‘There’s some time at night ruminating, yes, but when I get up during the day, I try and focus, be as productive as I can and ignore things that are out of my control.’

(By John P. Njui)

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