The previous billionaire’s fraud trial stems from the dramatic collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency change he based.
Sam Bankman-Fried’s fraud trial, which kicked off on Tuesday in the USA, marks the fruits of a yearlong authorized saga stemming from the dramatic collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency change he based.
The trial, anticipated to final about six weeks, comes practically a yr after FTX’s collapse shocked markets and tattered Bankman-Fried’s repute. Collection of the panel of 12 jurors and 6 alternates is ready to proceed on Wednesday, adopted by opening statements.
Here’s a timeline of key occasions main as much as the 31-year-old former billionaire’s trial.
2017
Bankman-Fried, a Massachusetts Institute of Know-how graduate, quits his job as a quantitative dealer at Jane Road Capital and launches Alameda Analysis, a buying and selling agency centered on cryptocurrency.
Might 2019
Bankman-Fried and former Google worker Gary Wang discovered FTX as a brand new platform to commerce crypto tokens and derivatives.
October 2021
FTX raises $420m in enterprise funding, valuing the corporate at $25bn. Bankman-Fried debuts on the Forbes billionaires listing, which estimates his web value at $22.5bn. The journal’s evaluation of his wealth would rise to $26bn by the top of the yr.
February 2022
The NFL Tremendous Bowl’s broadcast is heavy on cryptocurrency commercials, signifying the peak of the craze for the booming asset class. FTX’s “Don’t Miss Out” spot options actor Larry David, whose scepticism concerning the platform is portrayed as akin to an early human doubting the significance of the wheel.
June-July 2022
Bankman-Fried emerges because the cryptocurrency sector’s so-called “white knight” amid a collapse within the costs of Bitcoin and different digital belongings. Alameda offers crypto lender Voyager Digital a $200m credit score facility, and FTX offers lender BlockFi a $250m mortgage.
November 2, 2022
Crypto information web site CoinDesk publishes a leaked Alameda Analysis steadiness sheet displaying that a lot of its $14.6bn in belongings is held in FTX’s personal token, known as FTT. The token subsequently sheds about $400m of its market cap, and rival change Binance says it would promote its FTT holdings.
November 8, 2022
After FTX sees $6bn in buyer withdrawals in three days, Binance boss Changpeng Zhao says the corporate has signed a nonbinding settlement to purchase FTX’s non-US unit. Binance scraps the deal the following day.
November 11, 2022
FTX files for US bankruptcy protection, and Bankman-Fried resigns as its chief government officer.
November 16, 2022
David and different FTX movie star promoters, together with NFL quarterback Tom Brady, are sued over claims they engaged in misleading practices. The celebrities have stated the swimsuit must be dismissed, arguing they didn’t trigger FTX buyers’ losses.
December 12, 2022
Bankman-Fried is arrested within the Bahamas, the place he lives and the place FTX relies. The US Legal professional’s Workplace in Manhattan later confirms {that a} federal grand jury had indicted him for fraud and conspiracy expenses.
December 21, 2022
Bankman-Fried leaves the Bahamas after agreeing to be extradited to the US. Whereas he’s within the air, prosecutors reveal that Wang and Alameda chief government Caroline Ellison have pleaded responsible and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.
December 22, 2022
Bankman-Fried makes an preliminary look in Manhattan federal court docket and is launched to dwelling detention at his mother and father’ dwelling in Palo Alto, California, on a $250m bond.
January 3-12, 2023
Bankman-Fried pleads not guilty and US District Choose Lewis Kaplan schedules his trial for October. In a post-arrest weblog publish, Bankman-Fried denies stealing funds and blames FTX’s collapse on a broader downturn in crypto markets.
February 28, 2023
Nishad Singh, the previous director of engineering at FTX, provides to the strain on Bankman-Fried by turning into the third former member of his internal circle to plead responsible to fraud expenses and agreeing to cooperate with prosecutors.
August 11, 2023
Kaplan revokes Bankman-Fried’s bail after discovering possible trigger to consider he tampered with witnesses a minimum of twice, together with by sharing Ellison’s non-public writings with a New York Occasions reporter. Bankman-Fried is remanded to Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Heart pending trial.
October 3, 2023
The trial kicks off in Manhattan with jury choice. Bankman-Fried’s father and brother, in addition to ex-President Donald Trump’s former spokesman Anthony Scaramucci, are amongst attainable witnesses on the fraud trial, based on an inventory learn by a prosecutor in court docket.
However there isn’t a assure they may testify throughout the trial, which is predicted to final six weeks.