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Sam Bankman-Fried Releases Initial Statement Following Sentencing: “I Did Not Believe My Actions Were Illegal,” Reports ABC News.
Former “king of crypto” Sam Bankman-Fried has spoken out after his sentencing last week, which resulted in the FTX founder receiving a 25-year prison term. In an interview with ABC News on April 1, he stated that he “never thought” his actions were unlawful.
Sam Bankman-Fried Refutes Criminal Intent
“I’m haunted every day by what was lost,” Bankman-Fried expressed to ABC News. “I never aimed to harm anyone or take anyone’s money. However, as the CEO of FTX, I was accountable for what transpired at the company, and when you hold that responsibility, the reasons behind the failure become irrelevant.”
During his sentencing on March 28, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan also mandated that Bankman-Fried pay $11 billion in forfeiture due to his involvement in the crypto exchange’s downfall, which resulted in customers losing over $8 billion in assets.
“I never believed that my actions were illegal,” Bankman-Fried added. “I attempted to uphold a high standard for myself, and I certainly did not achieve that standard.”
Will FTX Creditors Receive Payments Soon?
The devastating losses caused by the collapse of FTX have left a trail of financial ruin for the exchange’s former clients, with prosecutors reportedly receiving over 200 victim impact statements related to the disaster.
“My family and I lost a significant portion of our family savings, which we had intended to use for our children’s education and to purchase our first home in the United States,” one statement partially read. “We are in a worse situation than we ever anticipated.”
SBF Victims Speak Out — And Their Stories Are Heart-Breaking
According to numerous court-filed “Victim Impact Statements,” customers of Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX are facing financial instability, cutting back on essentials like food, and resorting to eating ketchup as a meal, and living… pic.twitter.com/w0JWbBMdYB
— John Reed Stark (@JohnReedStark) March 20, 2024
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“Within days, the FTX US exchange vanished, leaving me feeling devastated and my hard-earned life savings lost,” wrote another victim.
Meanwhile, the FTX bankruptcy estate is navigating the protracted legal process aimed at compensating FTX customers, with the current CEO, attorney John J. Ray III, describing the situation as “unprecedented.”
Recent reports indicate that FTX creditors might see repayments materialize as soon as the end of 2024.
“I’d give anything to help restore even a portion of the damage,” Bankman-Fried remarked regarding customer losses. “I’m doing what I can from prison, but it’s incredibly frustrating not to be able to do more.”
FTX Founder Claims He Feels Remorse
The FTX founder’s recent statements follow his comments made during last week’s sentencing, where he claimed his company “always” possessed sufficient assets to cover its losses.
However, Judge Kaplan countered much of Bankman-Fried’s defense, asserting that he showed a lack of remorse for his actions.
In his latest interview, the FTX founder rejected this notion, asserting that he is “of course” remorseful.
“I’ve heard and witnessed the despair, frustration, and sense of betrayal from thousands of customers; they deserved to be compensated in full, at current value,” he told ABC News. “That could and should have occurred in November 2022, and it could and should happen today. It’s agonizing to see them wait day after day.”
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