Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is still entwined in his legal battle over the FTX crisis. In a letter, SBF’s legal team stated that prosecutors are behind on deadlines for vital evidence to build their defense on numerous fraud charges.
SBF has faced multiple charges since the collapse of FTX, which authorities insist was not an accident but a deliberate and fraudulent act. Since the crash, investigators have worked tirelessly on the case to unravel the true extent of damage to investors.
SBF’s Lawyers Send Letter To District Judge
Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyers sent a letter to United States District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan. In the letter, they stated that the government failed to release the entire contents of five electronic devices vital to the case.
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According to this letter, a laptop and iPhone belonging to former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison and a laptop belonging to FTX Co-founder Gary Wang were part of the devices.
SBF’s legal team noted that since the trial date was less than four months away, the late presentation of these documents would affect their preparation for the defense.
Additionally, the letter stated that the government had failed to produce any information on FTX debtors. The lawyers revealed that over 3.6 million documents were missing, which is a cause for concern for the defendants.
These documents include 2 million Google Search Warrant Documents and approximately 500,000 documents received in response to subpoenas and voluntary production requests.
Also, there are documents containing the content of Caroline Elisson’s laptop and two other laptops provided by two FTX software developers.
Additional documents containing correspondence on Telegram and Slack also make up these figures and are essential bits of evidence.
Sam Bankman-Fried is set to appear in court on October 2, 2023, to face fraud charges and additional claims bordering on bribing the Chinese government and illegal donations. So, his lawyers are pushing for these documents to prepare a strong defense.
FTX Bankers Seek To Cash Out On AI Shares
FTX bankers tasked with reviving the company’s fortunes allegedly seek to cash in on shares in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) sector. According to a report by Semanfor on June 6, FTX holds a stake in an AI startup Anthropic, currently worth billions of dollars.
A bank and part of FTX’s revival team, Perella Weinberg, hinted at the sale of shares in Anthropic to investors. Anthropic created a rival to the ChatGPT, the Claude Chatbot, thus gaining massive share value.
FTX allegedly owned $500 million worth of Anthropic stock before its bankruptcy. Now, the stake is expected to have increased to nine figures and will go to repaying former customers.
Currently, the bankers are deliberating on a total or partial sale since they believe that AI value will keep rising as it is now a lucrative niche, and Anthropic created two years ago, has an estimated value of $4.6 billion.
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