As Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial for 7 charges relevant to fraud and dollars laundering techniques its ultimate innings, the problem of how he’ll mount his protection hangs above the proceedings.
On Thursday, prosecutors will complete their case towards Bankman-Fried and the defendant’s group will be offered the opportunity to make a circumstance.
During a teleconference on Wednesday, Mark Cohen, Bankman-Fried’s lead attorney, stated that the protection has 3 prospective witnesses. He also reported: “Our client will be testifying.”
Cohen stated he expects Bankman-Fried’s testimony to be the identical duration as that of his previous colleagues who pleaded guilty: FTX co-founder and CTO Gary Wang, Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison, and FTX head of engineering Nishad Singh. And that it will consider a “good element of Thursday, probably all of Thursday,” with prospective for Friday cross-evaluation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicolas Roos said if the defendant testifies, which Cohen indicated he is, and dependent on what Bankman-Fried claims, a Monday closing for the trial “may no for a longer period be practical.”
“We’re in the last innings, and, to swap metaphors, this is his Hail Mary,” said Josh Naftalis, a previous federal prosecutor who’s now a partner at Pallas Companions. He predicted earlier this 7 days that Bankman-Fried would testify on TechCrunch’s Chain Response podcast.
Even though he was doing work in the Southern District of New York, Natfalis secured convictions in just about every federal criminal demo that he led as an assistant U.S. lawyer. Centered on that practical experience, Naftalis said that Bankman-Fried is up towards robust evidence, three cooperating witnesses and particulars of how billions of bucks flowed by way of firms he controlled. “This is his option to say, ‘I didn’t intend to do everything completely wrong. I didn’t act in poor faith. I was performing in fantastic faith, points just bought out of control,’ and it is truly tough for any defendant to make clear to a jury what’s in his head except they choose a stand,” Naftalis stated.
