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Sam Bankman-Fried denies "misuse" of FTX client funds
By Matthew December 2, 2022 No Comments3 Mins Read
An interview between former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and George Stephanopoulos aired on Good Morning America on December 1.
In the interview, Bankman-Fried insisted that FTX was not a "Ponzi scheme" but was "a real business." The now-former executive also denied any knowledge that FTX client deposits were used to pay off Alameda Research's creditors, as Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison allegedly claimed. According to him, he was not aware of "any misuse of client funds."
Bankman-Fried also admitted that did not spend any time or effort managing risk on FTX. Shared:
"There's something maybe seriously wrong there, which was, I wasn't even trying to do it. Man, I wasn't spending any time or effort trying to manage risk on FTX and that was obviously a mistake."
"If I had spent an hour a day thinking about risk management at FTX, I don't think it would have happened. And I don't feel good about it." added.
Following the bankruptcy of FTX, the former billionaire has reportedly lost his entire fortune. He claimed that he now only has $100,000 left in his bank account, and a single ATM card, after his net worth was previously valued at more than $20 billion.
Later, Bankman-Fried shared that her focus is working through the regulatory and legal processes and "trying to focus on what I can do in the future to be useful."
Hours after the interview was broadcast, the former CEO turned to his Twitter account to expand on statements made in another interview, which took place the night before on The New York Times DealBook Summit.
In the tweet, the former executive insisted that, at the time of filing for bankruptcy, he was "pretty confident that FTX US was solvent and that all US clients would be able to get their money back." In his words; "To my knowledge, it still is today," adding: "I'm not sure why US withdrawals were disabled."
Expanding on DealBook:
When I filed, I'm fairly sure FTX US was solvent, and that all US customers could be made whole.
To my knowledge, it still is today.
I was expecting that to happen. I'm surprised it hasn't. I'm not sure why US withdrawals were turned off.
—SBF (@SBF_FTX) December 1, 2022
On November 16, Sam Bankman-Fried expressed deep regret for declaring the company bankrupt, calling it his "biggest botch".
Read: Prosecutors are unlikely to offer Sam Bankman-Fried a favorable deal, his lawyer says
According to screenshots of the Twitter conversation between Vox reporter Kelsey Piper and Sam Bankman-Fried, the former FTX CEO said that, Although he has made several mistakes, the biggest one was listening to what people told him to do and filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
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