By Jody Godoy and Luc Cohen
(Reuters) – FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is set on Monday to resume testifying at his fraud trial on charges related to the cryptocurrency exchange’s collapse last year. He testified before the jury for the first time on Friday.
Here are five key moments from Bankman-Fried’s testimony so far.
PEOPLE GOT ‘HURT’
Bankman-Fried testified that “a lot of people got hurt” in FTX’s November 2022 collapse. He said he did not commit fraud, but admitted that he had made a big mistake by failing to put in place a dedicated risk-management team.
HIGH-END HOUSING AND ENDORSEMENT DEALS
Bankman-Fried testified that FTX corporate cash paid for high-end housing for employees in the Bahamas and endorsement deals. He said he borrowed from the crypto-focused Alameda Research hedge fund, which he owned, to donate to political causes and make venture investments.
“I saw no reason that I couldn’t,” Bankman-Fried said of borrowing from Alameda.
Prosecutors have sought to show that the funds ultimately came from FTX users.
ALAMEDA COULD USE FTX CREDIT ‘TO BUY MUFFINS’
Bankman-Fried said FTX users, including Alameda, could borrow money as long their assets outweighed their liabilities.
“We didn’t care if a user withdrew funds and used them to buy muffins, to pay business expenses, to invest or anything else,” Bankman-Fried testified.
‘NERDY’ COLLEGE LIFE
Bankman-Fried sought to push back on what his lawyers have characterized as the prosecution’s portrayal of him as a “cartoon” villain.
He described playing “lots of board games” when he lived in an alcohol-free, “nerdy” fraternity house at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he graduated with a physics degree in 2014.
HAIRCUTS NOT A PRIORITY
Bankman-Fried, who was known for his unkempt, curly locks before opting for a more clean-cut look at trial, said on Friday he had been too “busy and lazy” to get regular haircuts.
(Reporting by Jody Godoy and Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Will Dunham)
