(New York) Former cryptocurrency star Sam Bankman-Fried, who risks a long prison sentence, will play his part by testifying from Thursday afternoon at his trial, after three weeks of overwhelming debate for him .
Following an exchange between Judge Lewis Kaplan and the defense at the hearing Thursday morning, it appeared that “SBF” would begin questioning on the stand early in the afternoon, around 2 p.m. ( Eastern Time).
His lawyer Mark Cohen said his testimony is expected to last four to five hours.
Since the opening of this federal trial for fraud and criminal conspiracy, the image of “SBF” as a facetious genius of cryptocurrencies has been shattered.
Three key witnesses, former collaborators of Sam Bankman-Fried, also undermined his defense, which consisted of accusing his former subordinates, accused of incompetence or thoughtlessness.
“SBF” is accused of having organized the illegal use of funds deposited on its cryptocurrency exchange platform FTX without the knowledge of clients.
Up to $14 billion was siphoned off to fund the often risky investments of his investment company Alameda Research.
Some 8 billion were missing when FTX filed for bankruptcy in November 2022.
The majority has since been recovered by liquidators and is expected to be returned to customers in early 2024.
At the hearing, the witnesses assured – supported by internal documents collected by the prosecution – that the former little genius of cryptocurrencies was indeed at the origin of the offenses and had never lost sight of the financial situation of FTX and Alameda.
The cross-examination by “SBF” lawyers did not highlight any flaws in the story of these former collaborators.
His defense weakened, Sam Bankman-Fried therefore intends to testify, thus showing his last card to redress the situation. He faces up to 110 years in prison if convicted.
The prosecution had indicated to federal judge Lewis Kaplan that it could conclude the presentation of its witnesses on Thursday. And therefore hand over to the defense, which planned to produce four witnesses, including the accused.
Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyer did not specify in what order he planned to call the witnesses.
Defendants in criminal trials in the United States often choose not to testify, to avoid incriminating themselves, particularly during cross-examination by the prosecution.
Recently, Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby, the singer R. Kelly, Ghislaine Maxwell (Jeffrey Epstein affair), Derek Chauvin (convicted of the murder of George Floyd) or the drug trafficker Joaquin Guzman, known as “El Chapo”, have all preferred not to speak in court.
A Cornell University Law School study published in 2009 indicated that 77 percent of defendants who chose to testify were convicted, compared to only 72 percent of those who opted to remain silent.