Nassau – In court he wore a suit and tie and was not aware of any guilt. He was “not guilty” on eight counts, claimed ex-crypto king Sam Bankman-Fried (30, called SBF).
Not guilty of crashing his cryptocurrency exchange FTX. Not guilty of defrauding hundreds of thousands of investors out of their money. Not guilty of vanishing $11 billion, at least.
This is how the court artist saw the accused (left) at the hearing in New York. Photographers were not allowed
It is the biggest financial fraud since Bernie Madoff († 82, see text below): FTX, an exchange for artificial money such as Bitcoin, Tether and Ethereum founded in 2019, was nothing more than a pyramid scheme, “fraudulent and fake”, according to the indictment.
The allegations are worthy of a Bond villain, and the arrest of the main actor was also cinematic: in the Bahamas, in a penthouse on the bay where James Bond climbed into “Casino Royale”.
On December 12, 2022, the Royal Bahamas Police arrested Bankman-Fried in Nassau
SBF’s story and demeanor are not suitable for international financial villains. Born on the campus of the elite Stanford University, parents professors. A math genius with a curly head who, even as a billionaire, still drove a Toyota Corolla and played “League of Legends” on the Internet.
At its peak, his stock market was worth $32 billion, more than Deutsche Bank. Supermodel Gisele Bundchen and football star Tom Brady promoted him. Bill Clinton and Tony Blair sit next to him on the podium when he invites to the crypto conference. The statesmen in suits, SBF as usual in t-shirts, shorts and sneakers.
SBF flew Bill Clinton and Tony Blair to the Bahamas for a crypto conference, left pop star Katy Perry
He lived with nine friends and a dog in a $30 million penthouse (“The Orchid”) in Nassau, from where they ran FTX. A bunch of highly intelligent teenagers who traded billions in the Bahamas, supposedly without paying an accountant.
FTX owned 35 properties in the Bahamas, including this beach villa
What could possibly go wrong?
When his stock market went into trouble, SBF secretly moved 10 billion into the hedge fund of his ex Caroline Ellison (28). Both companies imploded together. In just one day, the billionaire lost 96 percent of his fortune, which was once estimated at $26 billion.
“I was on the cover of every magazine. We were the sweethearts of Silicon Valley,” Bankman-Fried once said. Most recently, he meekly admitted to having been “too self-confident and careless”. The insolvency administrator speaks of a “complete failure that I have never experienced”. The charge of “fraud of epic proportions”.
The crypto king at his headquarters in Nassau
While SBF pleaded not guilty at the first New York court hearing, FTX co-CEO Gary Wang and ex-girlfriend Ellison both pleaded guilty. You cooperate with the prosecutor’s office.
SBF hid $10 billion in the hedge fund owned by his ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison (28).
The trial is scheduled to begin on October 2nd. Until then, the ex-billionaire is under house arrest in his parents’ villa with ankle cuffs. The bail: $250 million.
Madoff gambled away 65 billion
As a stockbroker and securities dealer, Bernie Madoff enjoyed the trust of high society. But his legendary investment fund was a pyramid scheme: Madoff paid out the promised return from the money of new investors.
Ex-NASDAQ-Chef Bernie Madoff († 82)
In 2008, the construct flew in his face when an investor demanded billions back. In 2009, Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison for the largest financial fraud in history. Madoff died in Butner, North Carolina, in 2021.