The saga of the FTX cryptocurrency platform is finally reaching its legal conclusion. His former boss, Sam Bankman-Fried, has just received his sentence. And it is very heavy!
In November 2022, the world number two in cryptocurrencies, the FTX platform, suddenly went bankrupt, causing numerous losses for its customers. About a year and a half after the start of this scandal, and a public unpacking of the behind the scenes of FTX by several former executives, the main person responsible for this debacle, ex-boss Sam Bankman-Fried, is finally condemned by the courts of the States -United.
25 years behind bars
Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) could shake. The public prosecutor requested during his trial that he receive a prison sentence which could reach a maximum of 110 years. In comparison, the one that has just been announced to him could almost seem “light”.
The former billionaire was in fact sentenced to 25 years in prison, the majority of this sentence (20 years) corresponding to 4 major charges, the remaining 5 years being linked to two more minor counts. The judge also ordered the seizure of nearly $11 billion in SBF assets and property.
SBF promises to return the money… but does not convince
The thirty-year-old’s defense therefore only very partially convinced the court. The businessman’s lawyers were indeed asking for a certain leniency, namely a sentence of six and a half years, on the grounds in particular that the injured clients would eventually be reimbursed. We are talking here about a total sum of almost 8 billion dollars.
To support this assertion, the defense recalled that the value of FTX’s cryptocurrency holdings increased during this period of euphoria for the sector, with Bitcoin at more than $70,000. She also pointed out the value of FTX’s shares in the very promising AI company Anthropic. So many arguments which convinced neither the judge in charge of the case, Lewis Kaplan, nor the jury, which took only four hours to deliver its verdict.
Source : The Verge
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