Former FTX crypto exchange Sam Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to charges of fraud at a courtroom in New York. Bankman-Fried is accused of moving customer deposits from FTX to his other company, Alameda Research for personal use, including for political donations. If convicted, the former CEO faces over 100 years in prison, as federal prosecutors said the exchange’s collapse – which began when a wave of customer withdrawals in early November forced FTX to declare bankruptcy – revealed a high degree of ‘international fraud’, as billions of dollars of funds were discovered missing from the exchange.
This was an expected move on the part of Bankman-Fried, who did in the past state that some mistakes were committed in the management of FTX, and has as a result set a date for his trial on October 2nd of this year. There will therefore be a long wait to determine the outcome of one of the most famous criminal cases of the past years, which will give both the prosecutors and SBF’s attorneys to make convincing cases for their sides. It must also be mentioned that it is not unusual for a defendant to change their plea as the trial date approaches. All we can do now is wait to see this blockbuster story unfold ulteriorly.
