Federal prosecutors have announced their intention to call former FTX customers, investors, and employees as witnesses in the trial against Sam Bankman-Fried, a former crypto executive. These witnesses will provide insight into their expectations regarding FTX’s handling of their funds and shed light on their interactions with Bankman-Fried. The Department of Justice believes that their testimonies will be directly relevant to the issues in dispute at the trial and will help determine how reasonable persons would have interpreted the defendant’s statements about FTX’s treatment of customer assets.
The DOJ plans to call both retail customers and institutional clients who transferred significant amounts of assets to FTX with the expectation that the exchange would act as custodian. While the exact number of witnesses has not been disclosed, former FTX Chief Technology Officer Gary Wang, former FTX Head of Engineering Nishad Singh, and former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison have been identified as cooperating witnesses who will testify. Additionally, the DOJ is expected to call at least two witnesses who have been granted immunity.
However, one of the customer witnesses resides in Ukraine and faces legal and logistical challenges in traveling to the United States. Due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, the witness requires government permission to leave the country. The DOJ has requested permission for the witness to testify via video conference, supervised by a U.S. government official, but the defense opposes this motion. The government is also arranging for other overseas FTX customers to travel to New York to provide in-person testimony, despite the challenges and costs associated with such arrangements.
In summary, federal prosecutors are seeking testimony from former FTX customers, investors, and employees in the trial against Sam Bankman-Fried. These witnesses will elaborate on their expectations regarding FTX’s handling of funds and their interactions with the defendant. The DOJ believes their testimonies are crucial in clarifying how reasonable individuals would have interpreted Bankman-Fried’s statements about FTX’s treatment of customer assets. The DOJ also plans to call witnesses who transferred substantial amounts of assets to FTX, both retail customers and institutional clients. However, logistical issues arise with one customer witness residing in Ukraine, necessitating video conference testimony. The defense opposes this proposal, but the government is arranging for overseas witnesses to travel to New York for in-person testimony.