Founder of FTX, a $32 billion brokerage that went bankrupt, is on trial for massive fraud | Economy

trial Sam Bankman FriedFounder FTX – A cryptocurrency brokerage company worth about 32 billion US dollars and was one of the largest companies in the world before its bankruptcy at the end of last year.

The trial is taking place in the United States It will determine whether the sequence of events that led to FTX’s bankruptcy also represents a mass fraud committed by the executive branch against millions of people. If convicted, the 31-year-old, whose fortune was estimated at US$26 billion, could face prison time. Decades in prison.

According to Agence France-Presse, the first day of the process will be devoted to selecting the jury. The case is expected to take about six weeks to conclude in court.

In addition to financial fraud, Bankman-Fried is also charged with criminal conspiracy. Prosecutor Damien Williams is still accusing him of buying multi-million-dollar properties in the Bahamas and donating large sums to politicians in the United States.

The former billionaire was extradited from the Bahamas in December last year, when he was arrested and released on bail shortly afterwards. He was arrested again in August on charges of attempting to tamper with witnesses in the case.

What happened to FTX?

FTX’s problems began when the media began reporting that in order to bail out Alameda Research, a venture fund also set up by Bankman-Fried, the CEO had loaned money from FTX itself to the company.

The information is that he used client money deposited with the brokerage to finance the Alameda operation, which is illegal – because even though they are owned by the same owner, the companies’ business must be conducted separately.

This news came to light in early November, along with Alameda’s balance sheet. The document revealed the existence of about $14.6 billion USD in the form of FTT (FTX token, a type of official currency on the platform).

As a result, the broker’s clients began scrambling to withdraw their deposits, for fear of losing their resources.

Because it did not have enough dollars to cover all the withdrawals, FTX went bankrupt and filed for restitution in the US courts on November 11. The company went bankrupt, causing Bankman-Fried to lose everything.