FTX Co-Founder Testifies: Sam Bankman-Fried Allowed Unlimited Fund Withdrawals
FTX co-founder Gary Wang has testified in court, admitting that he and former FTX boss Sam Bankman-Fried committed wire fraud.
Wang revealed to the jury that he and Bankman-Fried engaged in financial crimes and deceitful practices that ultimately led to the collapse of the cryptocurrency trading platform.
As the chief technical officer at FTX and a co-owner of Alameda Research, a cryptocurrency hedge fund founded by Wang and Bankman-Fried in 2017, Wang confessed to committing wire, securities, and commodities fraud.
He disclosed that the duo illegally withdrew a staggering $8 billion from FTX funds through Alameda Research. Wang further claimed that Bankman-Fried directed these illicit actions.
The testimony came on the second day of a trial expected to continue for up to six weeks.
Prosecutors aim to prove that Bankman-Fried systematically stole billions of dollars from investors and customers.
The funds, they allege, were used to purchase luxury beachfront properties, enrich himself, and make political contributions exceeding $100 million to influence cryptocurrency regulations.
Bankman-Fried, who has been in custody since August, was extradited from the Bahamas to the US last year following charges filed in Manhattan federal court. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Ahead of the trial's commencement on Tuesday, prosecutors promised to present testimony from Bankman-Fried's "trusted inner circle" to establish his deliberate theft from customers and investors.
Defense attorneys, however, contend that Bankman-Fried had no criminal intent and had taken actions to salvage his businesses in the wake of the cryptocurrency market collapse.
During Wang's brief testimony, he affirmed that both he and Bankman-Fried had allowed
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