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Bankman-Fried first is due to answer around two more hours worth
of friendlier questions from his defense lawyer, Mark Cohen, who
is expected to ask the 31-year-old former billionaire about his
version of the dramatic events of November 2022, when FTX
collapsed amid a wave of customer withdrawals.
Three of Bankman-Fried's former close confidantes, each of whom
pleaded guilty and testified for the prosecution, earlier told
the jury that he posted or directed others to post misleading
messages on social media to give customers false assurance about
FTX's health in a bid to stop a run on deposits.
During six hours of testimony on Friday about events earlier in
2022 and in prior years, Bankman-Fried sought to distance
himself from specific actions he said the three cooperating
witnesses took without his firsthand involvement. He also
admitted to making "mistakes" that hurt FTX's customers and
employees, but said he never set out to take customers' money.
Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to two counts of fraud and
five counts of conspiracy. Prosecutors have said he looted
billions of dollars in FTX customer funds to prop up his hedge
fund, Alameda Research, make speculative venture investments,
and contribute to U.S. political campaigns. If convicted, he
could face decades in prison.
His decision to testify in his own defense is risky, as it opens
him up to probing cross-examination by prosecutors. But legal
experts told Reuters he may have viewed taking the stand as his
best shot at countering testimony from the three cooperating
witnesses that he directed them to commit crimes.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan has said jury deliberations
could begin by Thursday or Friday.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Will Dunham)
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