Sam Bankman-Fried acknowledges 'mistakes' but testifies he did not defraud anyone

investing.com:

By Jody Godoy and Luc Cohen

NEW YORK -Sam Bankman-Fried, testifying in his own defense at his fraud trial on Friday, acknowledged that a «lot of people got hurt» when the FTX cryptocurrency exchange he founded collapsed, but said he did not defraud anyone or take customer funds.

Shortly after taking the witness stand in Manhattan federal court, Bankman-Fried said he made «a number of small mistakes and a number of larger mistakes» while running the now-bankrupt exchange. The biggest mistake, he said, was not implementing a dedicated risk management team.

«We thought that we might be able to build the best product on the market,» Bankman-Fried said. «It turned out basically the opposite of that. A lot of people got hurt — customers, employees — and the company ended up in bankruptcy.»

Prosecutors accuse Bankman-Fried of using FTX customer funds to prop up his crypto-focused hedge fund, Alameda Research, make speculative venture investments and donate more than $100 million to U.S. political campaigns. He also faces charges of scheming to cheat Alameda's lenders and FTX investors.

He has pleaded not guilty to two counts of fraud and five counts of conspiracy brought in December 2022, one month after FTX declared bankruptcy following a wave of customer withdrawals.

Prosecutors say he directed that Alameda be given special trading privileges on FTX, such as a $65 billion line of credit and an exemption from having its positions liquidated if it posted losses. They say those privileges allowed Alameda to siphon deposits from the exchange's unsuspecting customers.

Responding to questions posed by his defense lawyer Mark Cohen, Bankman-Fried gave long-winded answers and spoke in calm, measured tones as he disputed that