The trial will finish with closing arguments on Wednesday earlier than the jury deliberates
As Sam Bankman-Fried took the stand for the final time in his trial for fraud and cash laundering, his most important lawyer, Mark Cohen, returned to query him on a variety of themes that prosecutors touched on prior to now few days. But this time, he took a completely different strategy, presenting the defendant as a one that was performing in good religion.
“We lived and died by having a better product than competitors,” Bankman-Fried stated of his now-bankrupt crypto change, FTX. Bankman-Fried owned majority stakes in each FTX and its sister buying and selling agency, Alameda Research, however insisted he wished one of the best for each.
Bankman-Fried has been testifying since Thursday afternoon, and the prosecution has grilled him for the previous few days as a part of their cross-examination. On Tuesday, when the defense attorneys returned to reexamine him, he was swaying barely on the stand, shoulders drawn down and ahead. He spoke softly, however was extra talkative than earlier within the day and on Monday when he was being questioned.
Contrary to the image prosecutors tried to color, Bankman-Fried insisted that he was not concerned within the day-to-day buying and selling operations of Alameda or its “core operations,” however as a substitute emphasised his concern for its management on the time, saying he wished to be concerned in lots of its enterprise investments, choices on hedging, and different areas.