Sam Bankman-Fried, the former disgraced CEO of disastrously-imploded crypto platform FTX, appeared in a much-anticipated interview with CNBC’s Andrew Sorkin to issue an apology to everyone he defrauded, insisting that it was never his intention to perpetrate such an utter act of blatant theft.
The once-billionaire appeared via video at the Dealbook Summit dressed in a black t-shirt wearing a sombre expression, one that likely is in the midst of calculating the size and magnitude of cash he lost over the past month. Speaking from his residence in the Bahamas, he began with issuing an apology over what happened. “I didn’t ever try to commit fraud on anyone,” he said, adding that he’s taken back by all the events that have transpired over the past 30 days, and that he’s still unable to reconstruct everything because he has “limited access to data.”
“I saw it as a thriving business and I was shocked by what happened this month,” SBF said. “I’ve had a bad month,” he added later, seemingly unable to grasp the possibility that his trading firm may have caused an even worse month for all those depositing their life savings into his crypto exchange. “We completely failed on risk,” SBF articulated. “That feels pretty embarrassing, in retrospect.”
Indeed, embarrassing it is. Recall, the once-$32 billion crypto exchange FTX was sent into a downward freefall after a run on deposits earlier this month left the company with an $8 billion shortfall, ultimately resulting in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. SBF was ousted as the CEO and replaced with John Jay Ray III to conduct a restructuring, who in a court filing said he had never witnessed “such a complete failure of corporate control.”
When pressed about the commingling of funds between his other company Alameda, FTX, and its banking partner Silvergate, SBF insisted he didn’t “knowingly” do such a thing. Instead, he argued that it was all just a big “accounting mistake” and that he was never running Alameda in the first place. “I was nervous because of the conflict of interest of being too involved.” He laid all the blame on lack of risk management, which got out of hand when there was a sudden “run on the bank.”
SBF’s facial expression soon took a turn towards discomfort, though, when Sorkin asked him whether there’s any concern regarding criminal liability. “There’s a time and a place for me to think about myself and my own future. I don’t think this is it,” he sheepishly explained, adding that, “I don’t personally think that I have” criminal liability.
With respect to the surmounting pile of donations FTX handed out to the Democratic and Republican party and close-knit relationships with regulators, SBF argued that doing those things is the only way to get things done. “I spent probably thousands of hours in DC trying to get to the point where I could actually have meetings with some of the regulators,” he said.
“I obviously wish that I spent more time dwelling on the downsides and less time thinking about the upsides,” he concluded, whilst trying to score sympathy from the crowd by revealing he only has one working credit card remaining.
Information for this briefing was found via CNBC and the sources mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to the organizations discussed. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
