Sam Bankman-Fried claims he didn’t ‘knowingly’ co-mingle FTX clients’ belongings along with his buying and selling agency Alameda

The feedback from Sam Bankman-Fried got here throughout an interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin at a convention placed on by The New York Occasions. Bankman-Fried has finished a handful of media interviews since FTX collapsed in mid-November, however Wednesday’s was his first video interview because it filed for chapter safety on Nov. 11.

“I didn’t ever need to commit fraud on anybody. I used to be shocked at what occurred this month,” Bankman-Fried mentioned.

FTX failed within the cryptocurrency model of a financial institution run, when clients tried to withdraw their belongings suddenly due to rising doubts in regards to the monetary energy of the corporate and its affiliated buying and selling arm, Alameda Analysis. Since its collapse, FTX’s new administration has referred to as the cryptocurrency alternate’s administration a “full failure of company controls.”

Bankman-Fried mentioned that he took duty for FTX’s collapse and mentioned he failed to know the quantity of threat FTX and Alameda had been taking over throughout each companies.

One of many accusations made in opposition to Bankman-Fried is that he organized for Alameda to make use of clients’ belongings in FTX to put bets out there. Bankman-Fried advised Sorkin he didn’t “knowingly” co-mingle clients’ belongings with Alameda.

Exchanges like FTX are alleged to segregate clients’ deposits from any bets they place within the markets. Different monetary corporations have gotten into authorized sizzling water for misusing clients deposits, one instance being MF International roughly 10 years in the past.

“No matter occurred, why it occurred, I had an obligation to our stakeholders, our clients, our traders, the regulators of the world, to do proper by them,” Bankman Fried mentioned.

Sorkin pushed Bankman-Fried on how and when traders will get their a reimbursement, to which Bankman-Fried mentioned he largely believed the U.S. affiliate of FTX was solely solvent and will begin processing withdrawals directly. As for the remainder of FTX, which was considerably bigger than the U.S. division, he mentioned the destiny of consumers’ funds had been largely out of his management at this level.

Bankman-Fried, who was as soon as one of many richest folks on the planet on paper, now says he seemingly has lower than $100,000 to his title after FTX’s failure. He’s getting by on one bank card whereas nonetheless within the Bahamas.