: Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, parried with a federal prosecutor on Thursday in high-stakes legal jousting at his criminal fraud trial that seemed to frustrate the judge.
She asked Bankman-Fried about business practices, specifically whether any internal document laid out how Alameda Research, his personally owned trading company, could use funds placed in FTX, which he could not fully answer.“The defendant has an interesting way of answering questions,“ Judge Kaplan said.
“Our position is that the use of funds was not improper and that our client didn’t believe it was improper,“ Cohen said. Supported by internal documents compiled by the prosecution, they said he was behind the breaches and did not lose sight of the financial situation of FTX and Alameda.Among those taking the stand was Caroline Ellison, Bankman-Fried's former business partner and girlfriend.