4 months ago
Sam Bankman-Fried, the convicted laminitis of the collapsed FTX exchange, maintains his innocence, claiming governmental bias influenced his prosecution.
In an interrogation with The New York Sun, helium argued that his lawsuit was unfairly handled and suggested that his ineligible troubles stemmed from his shifting governmental stance.
This interrogation emerged little than a fewer days aft FTX began repaying customers impacted by its November 2022 collapse.
FTX’s liquidity issues
Despite being sentenced to 25 years for orchestrating 1 of the largest fiscal frauds successful US history, Bankman-Fried insists FTX was ne'er insolvent. He argued that the speech experienced a liquidity crunch alternatively than a collapse.
According to him:
“I deliberation the azygous biggest happening is that FTX was ne'er insolvent. It was ne'er bankrupt. Neither was Alameda. They ever had capable to marque bully connected each of their liabilities. What happened was a liquidity crisis, a tally connected the bank.”
He stated that earlier the speech collapsed successful November 2022, FTX had a nett affirmative worth of astir $10 billion, positive an further $20 cardinal successful equity.
Bankman-Fried besides pointed retired that Alameda Research had already begun liquidating assets to screen liabilities, but the panic-driven withdrawals outpaced the firm’s quality to make currency quickly.
The convicted FTX laminitis besides accused instrumentality steadfast Sullivan & Cromwell of mishandling the exchange’s restructuring. He suggested that alternatively than resolving the crisis, the steadfast stalled efforts to repay customers.
Bankman-Fried said:
“A instrumentality steadfast took implicit the institution and, you know, spent the adjacent 2 years benignant of twiddling its thumbs and pretending determination is nary wealth left.”
Political retaliation
The erstwhile billionaire believes his ineligible troubles stem from governmental motivations. He argued that FTX executives who cooperated with authorities received lighter sentences due to the fact that of their ties to the Democratic Party.
Before his downfall, Bankman-Fried was 1 of the largest donors to President Joe Biden’s campaign. However, helium claims his governmental stance shifted owed to the administration’s hostile regulatory attack to integer assets.
He said:
“I became truly frustrated and disappointed with what I saw of the Biden medication and the Democratic Party. Particularly connected crypto policy, the Biden medication was conscionable incredibly destructive and hard to enactment with.”
However, helium noted that the Republicans were much receptive and that helium had secretly contributed to the party’s causes—a information helium believes whitethorn person influenced his prosecution.
Cozying up to Trump
Bankman-Fried further likened his prosecution to what President Donald Trump has faced, describing some cases arsenic examples of the Department of Justice’s (DoJ) politicization.
The FTX laminitis pointed to US District Judge Lewis Kaplan arsenic a communal adversary successful his and Trump’s cases. Kaplan presided implicit Bankman-Fried’s fraud proceedings and Trump’s intersexual maltreatment and defamation cases involving writer E. Jean Carroll for which helium was recovered liable.
He said:
“I cognize President Trump had a batch of frustrations with Judge Kaplan. I surely did arsenic well.”
Trump has antecedently criticized Kaplan, calling him biased. With Trump’s instrumentality to office, Bankman-Fried’s remarks look to awesome an effort to align himself with the president, who tin assistance pardons.
Beyond his efforts, reports suggest his parents are actively working to unafraid a pardon. His claims of injustice and governmental targeting adhd to speculation that helium hopes for clemency nether a Trump administration.
The station Sam Bankman-Fried seeks clemency, empathizes with President Donald Trump implicit ineligible convictions appeared archetypal connected CryptoSlate.
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