Anthony Scaramucci, founder of SkyBridge Capital, has expressed skepticism about Sam Bankman-Fried’s chances in his ongoing criminal trial in U.S. courts; he suggested that Bankman-Fried is no match for the government prosecutors.
Scaramucci voiced these concerns in an interview with CNBC on October 25, 2023. He further argued that Bankman-Fried’s decision to take the stand could be a critical misstep because he believed prosecutors would skillfully pick apart his defense during the trial.
According to Scaramucci:
“He’s gonna get skinned alive; there’s no way to escape. He thinks he’s going to outfox the prosecutors, but they’re very, very well experienced with this stuff.”
The outspoken hedge fund manager also noted a significant shift in Bankman-Fried’s public image due to the revelations before and during the ongoing trial. According to him, just a year ago, Bankman-Fried was perceived as an altruistic “congenial nerd” who would donate his substantial crypto wealth to charity, but the testimony from former FTX executives has painted a far more sinister portrait of international deception and misappropriation of customer funds.
Scaramucci also admitted that he deeply regrets embracing Bankman-Fried. He noted that he initially viewed him as a “smart guy with good intentions” before the fraud allegations came to light.
Scaramucci further commented:
“He thought he was so smart that he would out-trade the market and put the money back up as a half-a-trillionaire, but it never works like that.”
Notably, in January 2023, Anthony Scaramucci attempted to repurchase the 30% ownership stake of his hedge fund he had sold to Bankman-Fried’s now-bankrupt company, FTX, in a September 2022 deal.
In a separate development, on October 17, FTX creditors and the exchange’s new management announced a settlement deal that could see customers of the bankrupted cryptocurrency exchanges FTX and FTX.US recover over 90% of their trapped assets. The agreement comprises a plan that could return almost all the now-bankrupt’s available funds, with a claim value of approximately $8.9 billion for FTX.com users and $166 Million for FTX US users.
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