ex-boss of bankrupt FTX platform apologizes but denies scam

by time news

Sam Bankman-Fried is suspected of using funds deposited on the platform by FTX clients to conduct speculative financial transactions with another company.

The former boss and founder of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange platform said on Wednesday, November 30 “deeply sorry” after the bankruptcy of the company. “I am deeply sorry for what happened”, said Sam Bankman-Fried in his first public interview since the FTX default. Caught in a wave of panic that had prompted users to attempt to withdraw their funds from the platform en masse, FTX first suspended withdrawals, before being forced into bankruptcy on November 11.

“I was the managing director of FTX, which means that whatever happened, I had an obligation to safeguard the interests of shareholders and customers”recognized the former leader, questioned within the framework of a conference of the New York Times. “I clearly made a lot of mistakes, things that I would give anything to be able to correct today”continued the 30-year-old.

A fortune once estimated at 26 billion dollars

Sam Bankman-Fried is suspected of having used, with collaborators, funds deposited on the platform by FTX clients to carry out speculative financial transactions with his other company, Alameda Research. If proven, these facts could lead to criminal prosecution. “I don’t focus on it”explained “SBF” about a possible passage in front of justice. “The important thing is not there.” He said he was more interested in“try to do everything (son) possible to help” investors and platform customers.

By far the most prominent personality in the world of cryptocurrencies, Sam Bankman-Fried embodied for some the future of the sector. A time credited with a fortune estimated at 26 billion dollars, entirely based on the valuation of FTX and Alameda, the young man lost everything with the bankruptcy of his platform.

During the interview, Sam Bankman-Fried appeared overwhelmed by events and seemed to have only a very partial view of the underside of FTX’s failure. ‘I wasn’t running Alameda’he said, even though he was the main shareholder. “I didn’t know the size of their position”that is to say the sum borrowed from FTX, assured this graduate in physics from the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

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