Sam Bankman-Fried’s former colleague and fellow political donor Nishad Singh took the witness stand on Monday at the 31-year-old former billionaire’s fraud trial, becoming the third former member of his inner circle to testify against him.
He also said he was aware that Alameda Research, Bankman-Fried’s crypto-focused hedge fund, was borrowing money from FTX customers without their knowledge, and that he made political donations in his name using Alameda funds. Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to two counts of fraud and five counts of conspiracy tied to FTX’s November 2022 collapse. He has argued that while he made mistakes running FTX, he did not steal funds.
Singh is the third former member of Bankman-Fried’s inner circle who has testified at the trial, which started on Oct. 3. Jurors have already heard from Gary Wang, FTX’s former technology chief, and Caroline Ellison, Alameda’s onetime chief executive officer and Bankman-Fried’s former girlfriend.