Day Five Highlights in Sam Bankman-Fried’s Trial

The trial of FTX’s founder, Sam Bankman-Fried (commonly referred to as SBF), took yet again another interesting turn on its fifth day. Witnesses, including SBF’s former girlfriend and the previous CEO of Alameda, Caroline Ellison, testified, shedding light on some murky financial practices.

A Deep Dive into SBF’s Actions

Caroline Ellison, who had a personal relationship with SBF and later became co-CEO of Alameda Research, delivered some startling revelations. She confirmed that she and SBF had committed fraud together. The heart of the matter was the misappropriation of FTX customer funds. Ellison disclosed that SBF instructed her to use billions from FTX in the form of loans for Alameda’s other investments, many of which unfortunately tanked.

It was a shock to learn that of the misappropriated funds, Alameda utilized $14 billion to settle its loans. Interestingly, Ellison revealed that she wasn’t privy to Alameda’s losses before her tenure. It was only post joining that SBF discussed strategies to offset these losses, involving primarily FTX’s funds.

Ellison also touched upon a surprising aspiration of SBF: he had once expressed a desire to occupy the highest office in the land, aiming to become the President of the United States.

Financial Shenanigans

Gary Wang, the CTO and Co-founder of FTX, also appeared before the court. During cross-examination by defense lawyers Christian Everdell and Mark Cohen, Wang detailed his awareness of Alameda’s borrowing. He discovered the extent of borrowing when SBF directed him to work out the interest on these ‘unlimited’ loans. It came as a surprise that FTX had offered Wang a $200 million loan, out of which $200K was used for a house purchase.

Another eye-opener was when Wang confirmed that while Alameda siphoned off funds from FTX, it didn’t show in the exchange’s fiat balance. FTX had mechanisms in place, like the liquidity engine, to avert clawbacks.

The Political Angle

Intriguingly, politics had a role in this saga. SBF’s use of FTX’s funds extended to political lobbying for both the Democrat and Republican parties. Specifically, he contributed a massive $10 billion to the Biden administration. In another instance, Ryan Salame, the CEO of FTX Digital Markets, borrowed $35 million from the exchange to support the Republicans.

Financial Concerns

The scale of Alameda’s dealings was immense. Between 2020 and 2022, direct deposits from FTX to Alameda ranged between $10 to $20 billion. Ellison hinted at the vast reserves of Solana owned by Alameda, labeling them as “Sam coins.” Concerns also arose about Binance’s FTX shares. SBF, wary of Binance CEO, Changpeng Zhao, contemplated buying back these shares in 2021.

Alameda’s financial health seemed in jeopardy. At one point, they were indebted to lenders like Genesis for $9 billion. Their available funds included $7 billion from FTX customers and a direct $3 billion from FTX. The extent of the financial quagmire was evident when Ellison admitted to submitting manipulated balance sheets to FTX, painting a rosier picture of Alameda’s health.

In a critical update, Ellison indicated that FTX withdrawals ceased because Alameda had to use $10 to $14 billion to repay lenders, notably Genesis and Voyager. The latter two, it seems, are now bankrupt.