$100 million bribe, BTC price manipulation: SBF Trial Update

The Sam Bankman-Fried trial is the hottest news in crypto, and the hits keep coming for the infamous ex-CEO of FTX. The case’s second week has already seen SBF’s ex-lover, Caroline Ellison, testify against SBF’s manic desire to keep his failing company, Alameda Research, afloat. But the depth of her accusations keeps growing, as it becomes more apparent the extreme lengths SBF was willing to go to salvage the sinking Alameda ship.

Ellison Prepared “7 different balance sheets”

Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, had little control over the investment arm of FTX and was beholden to SBF’s requests. Allegedly, one such request was for Ellison to hide Alameda’s $15 billion in debt from investors such as Genesis Trading – who went bankrupt following the FTX collapse. To accomplish this, Ellison conjured up several unique balance sheets for Alameda – some more truthful than others – and let SBF pick which he would show to prospective business partners. 

Ellison testified:

According to Ellison, SBF selected the balance sheet that conveniently hid the gaping, billion-dollar hole in Alameda’s accounting. Eventually, the FTX executives would use customer money to pay back these exorbitant loans.

A Plot to Manipulate Bitcoin

Bitcoin is one of the most sturdy cryptocurrencies on the market. Its extremely high market cap and trading volume make manipulating it almost impossible. But it becomes a bit more feasible when you have billions of dollars at your disposal – as SBF and Caroline Ellison did.

Ellison claimed on Wednesday that she, SBF and other FTX execs plotted to manipulate the price of BTC by selling off customer’s funds. The conspiracy was centred around keeping Bitcoin’s price around USD $20k, although the exact rationale for this alleged move was unclear.

According to CEO of Ark Invest, Cathie Wood, SBF disliked Bitcoin because,

Getting on the Wrong Side of International Governments

SBF didn’t just allegedly break laws in the United States – revelations on Wednesday accused the disgraced businessman of attempting to bribe Chinese officials and mislead Saudi Arabian investors. 

After the FTX collapse, billions of dollars in crypto assets were frozen in the international investigation. Chinese officials were reportedly offered a bribe of up to $100 million – including Thai sex workers – to cease their money laundering probe and relinquish control over FTX’s assets. Of course, the ploy was unsuccessful. 

Ellison also claimed that SBF considered selling equity in his failing FTX to Saudi Arabian investors who were not privy to the company’s significant debt.