Markets

In his three decades of legal practice, Judge Kaplan expressed astonishment at witnessing a performance akin to that of Sam Bankman-Fried, also known as SBF, during the sentencing proceedings. SBF, the erstwhile CEO and founder of the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has been handed a sentence of 300 months, equivalent to 25 years, with an initial term of 240 months followed by an additional 60 months consecutively. The sentencing took place at the federal courthouse’s 26th floor in downtown Manhattan, where a jury had recently found the former crypto executive unanimously guilty on all seven criminal charges. Before the sentencing, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan found Bankman-Fried guilty of perjury, noting that he had falsely claimed ignorance regarding Alameda’s use of FTX customer deposits prior to 2022. Additionally, the judge concluded that Bankman-Fried had engaged in witness tampering by communicating with the former FTX general counsel before being taken into custody. Judge Kaplan dismissed the defense’s arguments regarding loss, stating that the defense’s claim of full reimbursement to customers and creditors was misleading, as it only equated loss with the dollar volume in the bankruptcy case. According to updates from Matthew Lee, the founder of the non-profit organization Inner City Press, investors lost $1.7 billion, Alameda lenders lost $1.3 billion, and FTX customers lost a staggering $8 billion. During the court proceedings, Bankman-Fried issued an apology, but state prosecutor Nicolas Roos portrayed FTX as founded on “pervasive criminality.” Similarly, Judge Kaplan characterized the proceedings as a “performance,” acknowledging Bankman-Fried’s refusal to admit guilt while recognizing his persistence and marketing skills. Judge Kaplan agreed with Roos that Bankman-Fried’s narrative was evident, noting his ability to continue promoting his story to the media despite the legal proceedings. The collapse of FTX in early November 2022 followed a CoinDesk report revealing that its sister trading firm, Alameda Research, heavily relied on speculative crypto tokens for its valuation. Concerns over this dubious financial practice, coupled with the close relationship between FTX and Alameda, prompted a surge of customer withdrawals, leading both entities into bankruptcy. This event caused significant upheaval in the already volatile cryptocurrency market, resulting in losses amounting to billions. A month later, the US government filed civil and criminal charges against Bankman-Fried and other top executives for misappropriating over $8 billion in customer deposits, fabricating financial statements, and orchestrating insolvency. Bankman-Fried was subsequently extradited from The Bahamas to the US, tried in October 2023, and convicted in November 2023 on criminal charges, with one charge being dropped in July 2023.