(New York) Billionaire with soaring fortune, idol turned pariah, American Sam Bankman-Fried has been on trial since Tuesday in a New York federal court, where he faces charges of fraud and embezzlement.

The young thirty-year-old entered the courtroom alone – without being supervised by security agents -, not handcuffed, then took his place alongside his lawyers, noted an AFP journalist.

Dressed in a gray suit and striped tie, he wore a fairly short haircut that contrasted with his usual abundant curly hair.

Justice Lewis Kaplan quickly addressed him, informing him that the decision to testify “was his alone” and that he could do so at any point during the proceedings.

The defense has not indicated at this stage whether the accused intends to testify at his trial.

Jury selection began mid-morning.

If convicted, “SBF” is likely to spend the rest of his life in prison, as the seven charges against him are punishable, in total, by more than 100 years in prison.

His story is that of the meteoric rise of a charismatic entrepreneur who seemed likely to help the world of cryptocurrencies gain respectability and stability, but who exploded mid-air.

Until the fall of 2022, he fascinated by his ability to build, in just two years, the second largest cryptocurrency exchange platform in the world, FTX, while making a sector which was not.

Dozens of projects, a fortune estimated at up to $26 billion, an improbable look with that curly black hair and his eternal Bermuda shorts, Sam Bankman-Fried ended up single-handedly embodying the world of cryptos.

But the veneer began to crack in early November 2022, after revelations that part of FTX clients’ funds had been used, without their knowledge, to fund the Alameda subsidiary, in order to make risky investments.

A movement of panic immediately followed, individuals or commercial partners all seeking to recover their investments in a hurry, to the point of causing the fall of FTX, placed in bankruptcy.

When the dust settled, some $8.7 billion was missing, according to the receiver appointed to manage the liquidation.

Federal prosecutor Damian Williams accuses “SBF” of having diverted funds from FTX clients to inject them into Alameda, but also to purchase several hundred million dollars of real estate in the Bahamas or to make donations to political candidates in the States -United.

“He was playing in his own casino,” writer Michael Lewis, who spent several hundred hours with Sam Bankman-Fried for a book coming out Tuesday, told CBS. “And that created conflicts of interest. »

“How can you not know that eight billion dollars that don’t belong to you are housed in your subsidiary? », asks the successful author.

Charged in particular with fraud and criminal conspiracy, “SBF” was extradited at the end of December from the Bahamas, where FTX’s headquarters were located, then released upon his arrival in New York, on bail of $250 million.

But he was detained in early August by Judge Kaplan for attempted witness tampering. “He is doing well,” a source close to “SBF” told AFP, although the accused complained about his conditions of detention.

According to the prosecutor, Sam Bankman-Fried notably sent documents to the American daily New York Times to try to influence the testimony of Caroline Ellison, his ex-girlfriend and a former Alameda manager.

She was indicted in this case and agreed to collaborate with the American authorities, as did three other former executives of the group.

They should be heard during the trial, scheduled to last between four and five weeks, which could weaken the defense of “SBF”, which has admitted management errors, but not embezzlement, charging in the process, on several occasions, Caroline Ellison.

Excerpts, published by the New York Times, from a long blog post that Sam Bankman-Fried planned to post on the social network X before his detention offer clues about his defense strategy.

He presents himself, as he has done in the past, as an overworked boss, unable to rely on his teams, incompetent or disinterested, who has allowed himself to be overwhelmed, but without any intention of harm. TO DO.