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<\/p>\nFormer FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried\u2019s upcoming testimony has been outlined in a letter to Judge Lewis Kaplan by his lawyer,\u00a0Mark Cohen.<\/p>\n
In the letter submitted by Cohen to inform the court of the planned testimony during Bankman-Fried\u2019s direct examination, the defense requested approval to obtain testimony regarding Bankman-Fried\u2019s awareness of counsel\u2019s participation in specific matters, following the court\u2019s order from Oct. 1, 2023.<\/p>\n
FTX, FTX US and Alameda Research entered bankruptcy proceedings\u00a0on Nov. 11, 2022, with Bankman-Fried resigning as CEO. He was\u00a0arrested in the Bahamas on Dec. 12 after the United States government formally notified the country of charges against him. Meanwhile, FTX co-founder Gary Wang and former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison agreed to plead guilty\u00a0to the charges made against them and are cooperating with the government.<\/p>\n
Bankman-Fried\u2019s testimony would challenge government allegations, particularly concerning counsel involvement in events such as auto-deletion policies, creating north dimension entities, the payment agent agreement, loans from Alameda and drafting FTX terms of service.<\/p>\n
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The defense argues that Bankman-Fried\u2019s understanding of legal counsel\u2019s involvement is relevant to his state of mind and good faith. Furthermore, they assert that his knowledge of industry practices is essential to demonstrate his belief in acting in line with accepted norms.<\/p>\n
According to the letter, Ellison\u2019s acknowledgment of\u00a0providing manipulated data, former FTX chief technology officer Gary Wang\u2019s claims of Bankman-Fried\u2019s involvement in enabling Alameda to \u201cwithdraw unlimited funds,\u201d and former FTX engineering director Nishad Singh\u2019s testimony about Alameda\u2019s \u201cexcessive\u201d celebrity endorsements purchases, underscore the significance of Bankman-Fried\u2019s testimony regarding his intentions on Nov. 12, 2022, to counter inferences drawn from prior witness statements.<\/p>\n
Related: <\/em><\/strong>Sam Bankman-Fried has no way to \u2018outfox\u2019 prosecutors: Scaramucci<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Furthermore, the letter notes that the defense plans to have Mr. Bankman-Fried testify about his sincere intentions regarding his compliance with directives from Bahamian authorities. This testimony would revolve around his belief that Bahamian authorities prioritized FTX customers\u2019 well-being and that FTX\u2019s in-house and U.S. bankruptcy counsel had potential conflicts of interest.<\/p>\n The United States government is expected to wrap up its case against Bankman-Fried on the morning of Oct. 26, with defense attorneys likely finishing the following day. Prosecutors added they were uncertain whether rebuttal witnesses would be necessary depending on Bankman-Fried\u2019s testimony. Closing arguments could be held before Oct. 31.<\/p>\n