Sam Bankman-Fried (FTX), the untouchable of crypto?

Sam Bankman Fried – founder of FTX – credit: Alamy

The founder and ex-CEO of FTX refutes the accusations. Sam Bankman-Fried deposited on May 8 petitions preliminaries rejecting the majority of the charges against him.

Numerous charges were brought against Sam Bankman-Friedthe former child prodigy of the crypto industry who became the symbol of the excesses of a deregulated industry. Since February, more than 10 charges have been brought against him.

But as he had already indicated, SBF’s line of defense is clear. The founder of the crypto exchange FTX pleads not guilty. And this Monday, May 8, the allegedly innocent man filed rpreliminary hearings before the courts.

Neither fraud nor illegal political financing

At the request of their client, the lawyers for SBF move to dismiss several of the charges. In particular, they challenge the charges of wire fraud against the exchange’s customers and Alameda Research’s lenders.

SBF also denies any bank fraud. Other charges are dismissed wholesale. These include unlicensed money transmission and illegal political financing.

In contrast, no motions were filed to challenge the charges of conspiracy to commit securities fraud or money laundering.

A recent report produced by FTX’s directors damned SBF and its inner circle. For example, even though it handled billions of dollars, the company did not keep records. The auditors also pointed to critical management and governance deficiencies

Virtually unlimited power’

The reporters point to a “small group of individuals. These individuals “tightly” controlled the company and “falsely claimed to manage the FTX group responsibly. And the report disputes SBF’s dismissal of customer asset fraud.

The analyses would show that this “handful of employees” had “virtually unlimited power,” allowing them, for example, to transfer funds from the exchange and its customers without explanation.

The management and governance of the FTX group was largely limited to the following individuals: Bankman-Fried, Singh, and Wang. Among them, SBF was considered to have the final say in all major decisions,” the auditors insist.

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