The ongoing criminal trial of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, known as SBF, took a dramatic turn on October 11, 2023, as new allegations of bribery and deception emerged.
Former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison testified against Bankman-Fried, claiming that he had attempted to unfreeze $1 billion in Alameda funds in China by offering officials a $150 million bribe.
Ellison revealed that the funds were locked on the Huobi and OKX exchanges due to a Chinese money laundering investigation. She said that Bankman-Fried had initially tried to access the funds through accounts unrelated to Alameda, including those of Thai sex workers.
“We made accounts using IDs of Thai prostitutes and did imbalanced trades between them to withdraw funds from OKX,”
Ellison testified.
Ellison further alleged that Bankman-Fried instructed his staff to delete messages related to the attempted bribe. She stated that the former FTX CEO had advised employees to communicate only on Slack, with content they were comfortable seeing on the front page of The New York Times.
Ellison’s revelations provide a shocking account of the lengths to which Bankman-Fried allegedly went to access Alameda’s funds as the FTX group crumbled.
This foreign bribery plot surfaces separately from the charges Bankman-Fried is facing, most of which are tied to FTX’s collapse and customer funds.
SBF has pleaded not guilty to all counts so far. However, Ellison’s statements have been crucial in prosecutions’ efforts to prove SBF misled investors and misused client deposits. During her testimony, she also admitted having had an affair with Bankman-Fried, which allegedly facilitated their access to FTX customer funds.
With a second trial scheduled for March 2024, more revelations will likely emerge regarding the desperate measures taken by Bankman-Fried as his crypto empire unraveled. As both sides continue to build their cases, the full extent of deceit and illegal tactics surrounding FTX’s implosion may only become fully clear in future trials.
If you want to read more news articles like this, visit DeFi Planet and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and CoinMarketCap Community.
“Take control of your crypto portfolio with MARKETS PRO, DeFi Planet’s suite of analytics tools.”
