Crypto CEO Sam Bankman-Fried must serve 25 years in prison for fraud | News
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UpdateThe founder of the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison. A judge in New York has issued this verdict in the case about the major fraud surrounding the collapsed crypto platform.
The 32-year-old was suspected of siphoning off 8 billion dollars (7.4 billion euros) from customers, part of which he is said to have used to finance his expensive lifestyle. FTX succumbed to a lack of liquidity at the end of 2022. This is one of the largest financial frauds ever.
In November last year, Bankman-Fried was found guilty of fraud by the court. Federal prosecutor Damien Willems asked earlier this month to sentence him to forty to fifty years in prison. According to him, that punishment was necessary to illustrate the seriousness of the crimes. According to Willems, this was “one of the largest financial frauds in American history”. However, the former crypto tycoon’s lawyers argued that a prison sentence of only a few years would be “appropriate”.
The collapse of FTX sent shockwaves through the crypto markets. After the bankruptcy, Bitcoin lost almost a quarter of its value
Bankman-Fried maintains innocence: mistakes, but no fraud
Bankman-Fried admitted at trial to making mistakes in the run-up to FTX’s bankruptcy, but insists he never intended to steal from customers. A few years ago, the crypto exchange FTX was the largest trading platform for crypto coins in the world. In 2021, she had an estimated 15 billion dollars (13.9 billion euros) in assets.
Business was great for years. The money flowed in, as did the customers. Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) became the king of crypto, surrounded by stars such as Taylor Swift and former politicians such as Bill Clinton and Tony Blair. He bought a $30 million beach house in the Bahamas from where he ran FTX with his fellow executives.
Shockwave through crypto markets
But in November last year, FTX went bankrupt after many customers suddenly tried to withdraw their money, but the platform turned out to have insufficient funds. Later, Bankman-Fried was accused of channeling customer funds to the Alameda investment fund, of which he was also the founder.
The collapse of FTX sent a major shockwave through the global crypto markets. After the bankruptcy, Bitcoin, the best-known digital currency, lost almost a quarter of its value.
The crypto world had often been rocked by unrest and scandals. Later, investor confidence in crypto coins recovered. At the beginning of this month, bitcoin managed to surpass its old record of $69,000 from 2021, helped by strong investor demand for US listed bitcoin funds.
LOOK. Crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried found guilty of fraud
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