Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX, envisions himself not being called a bad guy or a thief if now-bankrupt FTX customers can get their funds back. This was revealed by John Ray, Bankman-Fried's replacement as CEO of FTX.
Bankman-Fried was caught in a legal case for stealing US$ 8 billion (Rp. 125 trillion) from FTX customers which resulted in the company's bankruptcy.
In a victim impact statement filed in Manhattan federal court, Ray said FTX would reimburse customers for losses due to bankruptcy, not because Bankman-Fried did not steal.
“Bankman-Fried continues to live life under high levels of delusion,” wrote Ray, quoted by Reuters, Thursday (21/3/2024).
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan is scheduled to sentence Bankman-Fried on March 28 in Manhattan federal court.
Prosecutors are seeking a prison sentence of 40 to 50 years in the case against Bankman-Fried. However, defense attorneys believe the sentence imposed should be reduced.
The 32-year-old crypto dealer has pleaded not guilty to seven counts of fraud and conspiracy, and has vowed to appeal his sentence.
He admitted at trial he had made mistakes in running FTX, but he never intended to embezzle customer funds. Prosecutors argued that Bankman-Fried gambled with customers' money out of greed, and did not want to admit his guilt.
Meanwhile, defense attorney Marc Mukasey said FTX customer funds would likely still be returned during the bankruptcy process, and Bankman-Fried was trying to recover them after the crypto exchange's collapse.
“The memorandum distorts reality to support the narrative of customer 'loss' and casts Sam as a depraved supervillain,” Mukasey wrote, referring to prosecutors' proposed sentence.
However, it is currently unknown how many customers will have their funds recovered. In court filings this week, some customers said they would not be satisfied if they were only paid based on the value of their cryptocurrency holdings when FTX reached its peak. Because, these assets will be worth more now.
[Gambas:Video CNBC]
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