Sam Bankman-Fried's Trial Nears End as Prosecution Rests Case in $8 Billion Fraud Case
The trial of Sam Bankman-Fried is nearing its end, with the prosecution set to conclude their case on October 26 after hearing from almost 20 witnesses. The prosecution has argued that Bankman-Fried intentionally deceived former FTX employees, customers, investors, government officials, and law enforcement agents, resulting in an $8 billion gap between FTX and Alameda Research in November 2022. Bankman-Fried's defense has not yet confirmed whether they will present a case, but if they do, it will begin on October 26. The defense has struggled to present a narrative to jurors, and the prosecution has the burden of proving the alleged crimes.
SOL/ETH exchange rate hits 23-year high
According to the market data from Eu Yi OKX, the SOL/ETH exchange rate has reached a 23-year high of 0.018 and has returned to the level of November 9, 2022. As previously reported , SOL fell 30% on November 9, 2022 when FTX announced the closure of its withdrawal function.
The FTX Withdrawal Links From “Mail@networkforgood” Are All Phishing Scams
FTX creditor Sunil posted on X platform to remind users that the FTX withdrawal links received recently are all phishing scams, and specifically pointed out the malicious address "[email protected]". Users are advised to carefully check the sender's address and not click on malicious links.
Perpetrators Pretending to Be FTX Officials Are Sending Emails Containing Fraudulent Information to Creditors’ Mailboxes
On October 21st, according to multiple sources, perpetrators who are impersonating FTX officials are sending emails containing fraudulent information to creditors' email addresses. Investors should not believe these emails and should properly safeguard their personal assets.
FTX’s Former General Counsel: Google and BlackRock Considered Participating in FTX’s C1 Round of Financing
Can Sun, former general counsel of FTX, testified that FTX's Series C financing began in "late summer and autumn of 2022." An electronic spreadsheet showed that 15 potential investors, including BlackRock, Google, and Apollo, were interested in participating in this round of financing, with the possibility of BlackRock and Google investing being "medium." Both companies conducted due diligence on FTX before it went bankrupt.
Former FTX General Counsel Resigned From the Company After Discovering Huge Hole in Balance Sheet
October 20th, former FTX general counsel Can Sun testified in the SBF criminal trial, stating that in November 2022, asset management company Apollo Global Management expressed interest in investing in FTX and requested a copy of the financial statements. When the copies were made, Can Sun discovered a $7 billion gap in FTX's balance sheet related to Alameda. Can Sun resigned from the company afterwards. Can Sun previously worked as a lawyer at Fenwick and West and joined FTX in August 2021.
FTX lawyer: Asset management giant Apollo withdrew from FTX rescue plan after learning about financial situation
Former senior lawyer Sam Bankman-Fried stated that asset management giant Apollo Global Management withdrew from the FTX rescue plan at the last minute after learning that billions of dollars of customer funds were missing and the exchange could not provide legal basis for the shortage. FTX collapsed a few days later.
Former FTX General Counsel: Lending client funds to Alameda Research was never approved
Can Sun, FTX's general counsel, told the jury during Sam Bankman-Fried's criminal fraud trial that he "never approved" of FTX lending customer funds to sister company Alameda Research. Can Sun served as FTX's general counsel from August 2021 to November 2022, during the period when the exchange collapsed. When asked if he agreed to Alameda using FTX customer funds, he said "absolutely not."
FTX used more than $1 billion in customer funds to buy back shares from Binance
According to the US Department of Justice (DOJ), they have hired accounting professor Peter Easton from the University of Notre Dame to track billions of dollars in funds between Alameda and FTX. During the SBF trial hearing, the professor testified that FTX used customer funds to repurchase all of its shares held by Binance in 2022, with over $1 billion coming from FTX's customer funds.
Easton testified that user deposits were also reinvested in businesses and real estate, used for political donations, and donated to charitable organizations.
Previously, in 2019, as part of a strategic partnership between the two companies, Binance invested an undisclosed amount of funds in FTX. Binance CEO CZ stated in an article in 2022 that the company had received over $2.1 billion in BUSD and FTX's FTT tokens as part of the buyback. (CoinDesk)
Earlier reports stated that in 2021, SBF repurchased FTX shares held by CZ for $2.275 billion in response to regulatory scrutiny.
FTX once used customer funds to buy back all the shares held by Binance
A court hearing on Wednesday revealed that FTX used client funds to buy back all shares held by its competitor Binance. As part of the buyback, Binance CEO Zhao Changpeng stated in a 2022 article that the company received over $2.1 billion in BUSD and FTT tokens.
Peter Easton, an accounting professor at the University of Notre Dame, was employed by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to track the billions of dollars in transactions between Alameda and FTX, which is also part of the ongoing SBF trial.
