Sam Bankman-Fried trial: FTX founder grilled over ‘cozy’ ties with Bahamian officials

Federal prosecutors continued to poke holes in Sam Bankman-Fried’s defense on Tuesday, trying to trip up the former crypto wunderkind accused of orchestrating one of the largest frauds in U.S. history.

FTX founder Bankman-Fried and his cohorts are accused of diverting billions of dollars from client accounts for his personal use, which included making risky trades at his cryptocurrency hedge fund Alameda Research, spending sprees, and celebrity endorsement deals. He’s also accused of making illegal donations to lawmakers as part of a plan to buy power and influence crypto regulation.

GRANITE STATE GAFFE: DEMOCRATS PUSH BIDEN WRITE-IN EFFORT IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon spent the morning asking Bankman-Fried to explain his “cozy relationship” with Bahamian officials, specifically the country’s prime minister, Philip Davis, and his wife.

FTX was based in the Bahamas before its November 2022 collapse.

Sassoon tried to link the favors Bankman-Fried did for officials on the island with his decision to let FTX customers there withdraw their funds from the cryptocurrency exchange while preventing others from doing the same.

“I asked if that’s what they had wanted me to do,” Bankman-Fried said, referring to the exemption.

“And you did that, correct?” Sassoon asked.

“Briefly,” Bankman-Fried replied.

Elizabeth Williams/AP

Sassoon also asked Bankman-Fried if he had offered to pay off the island’s $11.6 billion national debt, hand Davis’s son a cushy job, and give the prime minister and his wife courtside seats to a Miami Heat basketball game at the FTX Arena in Miami.

Bankman-Fried said he had “offered to have a talk” with the first family’s son about employment but said he could not remember if he offered to pay off the national debt or give Davis and his wife the basketball tickets.

Sassoon then showed Bankman-Fried a text message in which he told colleagues the couple sat courtside at a game.

FTX co-founder Gary Wang testified earlier in the trial that Bankman-Fried tried to transfer funds to the Bahamas after the crypto exchange’s Nov. 11, 2022, bankruptcy because he thought authorities there might let him stay in charge.

Lynne Sladky/AP

Bankman-Fried was also asked on the stand whether anyone was fired for spending $8 billion in customer funds. He said no and added that he could not remember how the money was spent. He was also evasive when asked why he hadn’t been clear with customers about the risks attached to FTX.

At one point, Bankman-Fried tried to blame the loss of customer funds on bad management and oversight at Alameda and said he wasn’t aware of how big the blunders had become until it was too late.

He added that former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison, who is his ex-girlfriend, would often send him spreadsheets of balance sheets with multiple tabs in them.

“Sometimes I would look at the other tabs at high levels, sometimes I wouldn’t,” he said.

Bankman-Fried told Sassoon he could not remember whether he looked at the multiple tabs in the fake balance sheets Ellison testified she was directed to create by Bankman-Fried that misrepresented how well Alameda was doing.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to two counts of fraud and five counts of conspiracy tied to FTX’s implosion. If convicted of all the charges against him, he could be sentenced to more than 100 years in prison.

The defense is expected to rest its case Tuesday afternoon.