Bankman-Fried dodges questions during his US crypto trial
collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, parried with a federal prosecutor on Thursday in high-stakes legal jousting at his criminal fraud trial that seemed to frustrate the judge.
Bankman-Fried was scheduled to take the witness stand after three weeks of devastating testimony for the 31-year-old crypto wunderkind, accused of stealing billions of dollars from clients.
But federal Judge Lewis Kaplan took the unusual step of sending the jury home Thursday and listening to Bankman-Fried, his defense lawyers and a prosecutor go over technical aspects of his upcoming testimony.
The move pushed Bankman-Fried's appearance before the jury back until at least Friday.
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View Details»Bankman-Fried, once one of the most respected figures in crypto, has been charged with seven counts of fraud, embezzlement and criminal conspiracy.
If convicted, he could face a de facto life sentence of more than 100 years in prison.
Thursday's hearing initially seemed confined to points of detail, but assistant US Attorney Danielle Sassoon soon found Bankman-Fried, known widely as SBF, offering evasive answers, drawing a pointed remark from the judge.
She asked Bankman-Fried about business practices, specifically whether any internal document laid out how Alameda Research, his personally owned trading company, could use funds placed in FTX, which he could not fully answer.
Initially calm, Bankman-Fried grew visibly surprised and delivered
