\u201cFTX creditors,\u201d appealed to Sunil Kavuri on Twitter days after the ongoing trial of Sam Bankman-Fried started, adding:<\/p>\n
\u201cNever forget all the CT influencers that fawned over SBF, posted their FTX ref links, posted their fake screenshot P&Ls on FTX and never talked about FTX bankruptcy\/creditors again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kavuri lost about $2.1 million to FTX and has now become one of the vocal champions of FTX creditors. He describes himself as an FTX creditor activist for his newfound role and is now making rounds of media outlets to share his thoughts on the trial.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Sunil (FTX Creditor Champion) (@sunil_trades) October 8, 2023<\/p>\n
\u201cSam Bankman-Fried has literally destroyed so many people\u2019s lives,\u201d said Kavuri, who is now receiving dozens of queries every day from fellow FTX creditors, the BBC stated. \u201cOne person in Turkey was left with only $600 (\u00a3490) in their bank account after losing everything, and one in Korea was hospitalized with panic attacks.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Trial of the Century: Billionaire\u2019s Embezzlement Case<\/p>\n
The criminal trial of SBF started last week. The infamous figure, who founded and headed the crypto exchange FTX, attended the court with a new haircut and in a suit and tie, unusual from his signature shorts and t-shirt look.<\/p>\n
After opening statements, two people, a former FTX customer and a close friend of Bankman-Fried\u2019s since college, testified in court today.<\/p>\n
The trial is receiving significant media attention, from the crypto-specific media and also mainstream finance. As the 12-member jury heard the opening arguments on Wednesday, the investors are keen on knowing the decision, as they are waiting for the settlement with the bankruptcy administration, which is unrelated to the trial.<\/p>\n
The defense lawyers argued that SBF is a math nerd who overlooked risk management but did not steal from customers. However, prosecutors said the entire FTX empire was \u201cbuilt on lies.\u201d<\/p>\n
SBF\u2019s Defense: The Intricate Courtroom Strategy<\/p>\n
Some vocal legal minds on social media are also heavily critizing SBF and the arguments of the defense. John Reed Stark, the President of John Reed Stark Consulting LLC who was also a former SEC employee, wrote: \u201cSBF\u2019s \u2018Alameda was a market-maker\u2019 defense is absurd. Calling Alameda a \u2018market-maker\u2019 is like calling a crooked airport baggage handler an airline pilot. Alameda was SBF\u2019s personal, custom-designed money laundering conduit. Period. End of story.\u201d<\/p>\n
SBF\u2019s \u201cAlameda was a market-maker\u201d defense is absurd. Calling Alameda a \u201cmarket-maker\u201d is like calling a crooked airport baggage handler an airline pilot. Alameda was SBF\u2019s personal, custom designed money laundering conduit. Period. End of story.In case you have not heard, Stark also questioned the effectiveness of the defense strategy in light of some of the previous confessions of SBF about his fake image in public.<\/p>\n
Not sure the \u201cI\u2019m a good guy, I just messed up,\u201d defense is going to work for Sam Bankman-Fried. After all, SBF has already confessed in texts that his mantra of so-called effective altruism was all a \u201cfront,\u201d even referring to his bogus philanthropic efforts as \u201cthis dumb game\u2026<\/p>\n
\u2014 John Reed Stark (@JohnReedStark) October 4, 2023<\/p>\n
Analyzing the defense\u2019s strategy, Sam Enzer, a partner at Cahill Gordon & Reindel, said in a podcast: \u201cThe defense is trying to humanize Sam Bankman-Fried\u2026 [Obvious questions to the witnesses] corroborates that little fact and it takes some of the sting out of the bad testimony.\u201d<\/p>\n
Courageous Testimonies: FTX Victims Take the Stand<\/p>\n
The first witness who took the stand was Marc-Antoine Julliard, a cocoa bean trader, who lost $100,000 as a customer of FTX. He was under the impression that FTX had strong financials, especially because of the celebrities and venture funds that were attached to the brand, and he felt \u201cextremely anxious\u201d when he could not withdraw his funds from the platform. He further said that he did not know the platform had borrowed his money.<\/p>\n
FTX had an estimated customer base of more than 1 million. While most of the customers, or now victims, remain silent spectators of the trial, a few vocal ones took to social media to express their distaste for SBF.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt affected my life,\u201d Lee Rees, a London-based crypto trader who lost $100,000 to the collapsed exchange, told Reuters. \u201cI had a life to pay for. It\u2019s like your boss doesn\u2019t pay you. You can\u2019t live, can you?\u201d<\/p>\n
While FTX\u2019s bankruptcy administration looks after customers\u2019 claims, Rees, who filed a claim, mentioned that \u201call these terms were so complicated,\u201d adding: \u201cYou need a lawyer to understand it\u2026 We don\u2019t know if we\u2019re getting our money back or not.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maxime, who is from Belgium had a \u201csix-figure sum\u201d at FTX, said: \u201cI think there is a risk that there will be many victims who will find themselves victims again because of this procedure.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Accountability on Trial: The Quest to Uncover the Culprits<\/p>\n
At its prime, FTX was one of the top global cryptocurrency exchanges. It ran extensive campaigns and bought celebrity endorsements. SBF was additionally active in the US political circle. He was one of the top donors to President Joe Biden\u2019s election campaign. Now, many are raising the issue of the US government turning a blind eye toward FTX\u2019s lapses.<\/p>\n
Why US politicians don\u2019t act and restore FTX exchange ?Now we have unequivocal confirmation that restarting the FTX exchange is an imperative matter of national security.@VP@POTUS@JusticeOIG@SECGov@GaryGensler @SenWarren @CFTC<\/p>\n
\u2014 FTXRELOADED (@FTXRELOADED) October 7, 2023<\/p>\n
American author Michael Lewis, who strategically launched his book on SBF ahead of the trial, revealed that the FTX\u2019s Founder was even considering offering Donald Trump $5 billion to stop him from running in the US presidential election.<\/p>\n
Sam Bankman-Fried reportedly wanted to pay Donald Trump $5 billion to not run for President in 2024.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) October 2, 2023<\/p>\n
The book, \u201cGoing Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon,\u201d revealed that SBF met with the Prime Minister of the Bahamas to discuss paying off the country\u2019s entire national debt of roughly $10 billion. SBF ran the operations of FTX.com from the headquarters in the Bahamas with his so-called \u201cinner circle.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, other prominent Twitter accounts are also digging up previous interviews of SBF when he made controversial statements about his business.<\/p>\n
Nothing to see here.Just Sam Bankman-Fried & Tether admitting to bank fraud prior to the collapse of FTX.Don\u2019t worry guys, this isn\u2019t proof of anything. Sam Bankman-Fried is as innocent as a sleeping kitten on Sunday morning.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Bitfinex\u2019ed\u00a0 \u039a\u03b1\u03c3\u03c3\u03ac\u03bd\u03b4\u03c1\u03b1 (@Bitfinexed) October 3, 2023<\/p>\n
The Domino Effect: How SBF\u2019s Trial May Trigger Future Lawsuits<\/p>\n
It has been only one week, and the splinters from the SBF trial are already indicating upcoming lawsuits against other institutional lenders to FTX.<\/p>\n
Garry Wang, the Co-Founder and former Chief Technology Officer of FTX who also testified last week, told the jury that FTX \u201cgave special privileges to Alameda Research to allow it to withdraw unlimited funds from FTX and lied about it.\u201d He revealed that FTC repaid lenders, including Genesis, with customers\u2019 funds.<\/p>\n
Still amazed how the FTX Estate settled with Genesis for $175m (after seeking $4bn) and is now hinting that they will try to claw back customers withdrawals.All while Genesis loans were fully repaid with\u2026 FTX customer funds.FTX users rugged by both Sam and JR3.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Googly (,) (@0xG00gly) October 6, 2023<\/p>\n
Furthermore, Matt Huang, the Co-Founder of Paradigm, testified against SBF, informing the jury that his company wrote off the entire $278 million investment into FTX. Earlier, several other major venture capitalists confirmed that they also wrote off their investments in FTX.<\/p>\n
This article was written by Arnab Shome at Financemagnates<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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