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Ex-FTX boss Sam Bankman-Fried denies illegal drug use at company
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FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried denied witnessing any illegal drug use at the cryptocurrency exchange's office or at office parties.
In an interview Wednesday with New York Times columnist and CNBC anchor Andrew Ross Sorkin, the 30-year-old was asked about drug use, including tweets about stimulants and whether he had been taking a drug for Parkinson's disease called Emsam.
"It's funny hearing this. I had my first sip of alcohol after my 21st birthday. I think I maybe have half a glass of alcohol a year, roughly speaking. There were no wild parties here," Bankman-Fried replied.
He said the parties would include board games, with about 20% of attendees each drinking a quarter of a beer and the rest remaining sober.
Andrew Ross Sorkin speaks with FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried during the 2022 New York Times DealBook Summit in the Appel Room at the Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Wednesday. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images / Getty Images)
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"I didn't see any illegal drug use at the office or at these parties. And when I say parties, I mean having people over for dinner, that's what that meant," he said.
Bankman-Fried had tweeted about stimulants years before FTX declared bankruptcy and rumors spread about Emsam in recent weeks.
Caroline Ellison, who was in a monthslong relationship with Bankman-Fried and served as the chief executive of his trading firm Alameda Research, had tweeted about "regular amphetamine use" last year.
"I can't talk about anyone else. What they are prescribed is between them and their doctors or psychiatrist," Bankman-Fried told Sorkin, noting that he had been "prescribed various things at various times to help with focus and concentration."
Andrew Ross Sorkin and Sam Bankman-Fried on stage at the 2022 New York Times DealBook in New York City on Wednesday. (Thos Robinson/Getty Images for The New York Times / Getty Images)
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"I haven't felt any of the sort of impact that people have been theorizing from it. And it's not a huge impact in the first place anyway," he added. "I think these have totally been on-label use of medication that I think on the margin help me focus a little bit. I wish I had been a lot more focused over the last year."
He reportedly echoed these statements in another wide-ranging sit-down interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos.
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