FTX crypto founder Sam Bankman-Fried was rebuked by the judge multiple times while testifying in his fraud and money laundering trial on Friday.
United States District Judge Lewis Kaplan interrupted Bankman-Fried several times during his testimony for giving long, rambling answers in response to defense attorney Mark Cohen’s questions. At one point, Kaplan rejected Bankman-Fried’s definition of market manipulation, telling the jury, “You will take what I say manipulation means,” according to the Washington Post.
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During his testimony, Bankman-Fried followed his defense’s argument that he was acting in good faith, despite the mistakes he made as the former CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX. Prosecutors have attempted to paint the young CEO as a manipulator.
Bankman-Fried’s testimony comes after weeks of testimony from FTX customers who argue Bankman-Fried was involved in a scheme to steal as much as $10 billion from them. FTX customers claim they could not withdraw their funds in November 2022 because Bankman-Fried let Alameda Research, his crypto trading fund, spend the money.
The news also comes after Bankman-Fried rambled and waffled in his answers in front of the legal teams and Kaplan on Thursday, which also earned him rebuke from the judge. During Thursday’s cross-examination, Kaplan instructed Bankman-Fried to “listen to the question and answer the question directly.”
“Part of the problem is that the witness has what I’ll call an interesting way of responding to questions,” Kaplan said Thursday.
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The 31-year-old former billionaire has pleaded not guilty to seven criminal charges against him, including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Bankman-Fried is the only witness being called by the defense team in the trial, and testimony could run through Monday, when he faces cross-examination by prosecutors.
