SBF planned to blame everyone but himself, shows leaked Congress testimony

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, besides known arsenic SBF, was arrested connected Dec 12, a time earlier helium was acceptable to testify earlier Congress remotely. A transcript of his testimony, obtained by Forbes, highlights that the disgraced CEO planned to blasted the spectral downfall of his $32 cardinal empire connected everyone but himself.

SBF continued the aforesaid rhetoric astir FTX.US, the sister institution of the planetary cryptocurrency exchange, successful his testimony. He claimed that the United States-based entity was inactive “fully solvent” contempt it being a portion of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filed connected Nov. 11. Bankman Fried wrote:

“I privation I had not clicked connected a fastener connected Docusign astatine 4:30 am, leaving immoderate of FTX nether destructive leadership,”

He went connected to blasted the inclusion of FTX.US successful the Chapter 11 bankruptcy connected John J. Ray III, a restructuring lawyer who assumed the relation of FTX CEO aft the bankruptcy filing. SBF claimed that “American customers were protected, astatine slightest until Mr. Ray’s squad took over.”

Ray, connected the different hand, has been very captious of the erstwhile FTX CEO and his absorption skills. In his grounds for the FTX probe hearing, Ray has said that successful each his years of moving arsenic a restructuring lawyer, helium has ne'er seen specified an “utter nonaccomplishment of firm controls astatine each level of an organization, from the deficiency of fiscal statements to a implicit nonaccomplishment of immoderate interior controls oregon governance whatsoever.”

In the leaked document, SBF besides blamed the inclusion of FTX.US successful Chapter 11 connected the bankruptcy instrumentality steadfast Sullivan & Cromwell. While Bankman-Fried himself signed the bankruptcy documents, helium claimed the instrumentality steadfast pressured him to record Chapter 11 documents and wrote:

“I person 19 pages of screenshots of Sullivan & Cromwell, Mr. Miller, and others I judge were influenced by them, each sent implicit a two-day period, pressuring maine to rapidly record for Chapter 11.” 

SBF besides attacked the wide counsel for FTX.US Ryne Miller, accusing him of being portion of the unit radical that wanted to see the U.S.-based entity successful the bankruptcy filing.

Related: Hours earlier his arrest, SBF denied being portion of ‘Wirefraud’ chat group

Apart from Ray and his ineligible aids, SBF was besides going to blasted Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao for what helium claimed was “a period of sustained antagonistic PR connected FTX.” He claimed that Binance knowingly signed the missive of intent to bargain retired FTX, but they “never intended to spell done with the deal.”