Sam Bankman-Fried, co-founder and former CEO of crypto asset exchange platform FTX, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to federal fraud charges against him during a trial in New York, in the United States.
Bankman-Fried, charged with eight counts, including conspiracy to embezzle customer funds, arrived at a federal courthouse in Manhattan on Tuesday escorted by a heavy courthouse security detail, CNN reported.
Judge Lewis Kaplan has proposed October 2 as the start date for the trial against Bankman-Fried, who remains under house arrest with an electronic bracelet at his parents’ home in Palo Alto, California, after paying a bail of 250 million dollars (235 million euros).
Bahamian authorities announced the arrest of the FTX founder on December 13, following a «notification» from the United States that charges had been filed against him, to which country he was extradited days later in FBI custody.
FTX announced in mid-November that it had decided to file for Chapter 11 protection under the U.S. Bankruptcy Act in order to conduct an orderly asset valuation and liquidation process for the benefit of the parties involved.
FTX’s solvency had been called into question after rival Binance decided to back out of its intention to come to the platform’s rescue following due diligence and the opening of investigations by U.S. government agencies.
At a conference with investors, Bankman-Fried, still CEO of FTX, had put the platform’s hole at around $8 billion (a similar figure in euros), including the need for around $4 billion for the firm to maintain its solvency.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
