The founder of FTX Sam Bankman-Fried, under house arrest, has written hundreds of pages of reflections that may form the basis of his defense at the October 3 hearings. The material was published by The New York Times.
Approximately 250 pages of notes, including an unpublished ‘essay’ on X consisting of about 15,000 characters, facing 12 criminal charges, were passed to journalist Tiffany Fung by the top executive. They contain details of his life in recent months and give insight into the worldview of the former FTX CEO.
Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas and extradited to the United States, where he was released on a $250 million bail. Later, the court revoked his release and remanded the former exchange chief in custody until the next hearing.
Fong was among the few people granted access to SBF while he lived with his parents.
According to the journalist, during house arrest Bankman-Fried spent most of his time in a study, playing computer games, chess, and sometimes sleeping on the sofa. There, the former CEO worked on his legal defense, jotting thoughts on hundreds of pages, she added.
In the drafts, SBF traced the growth of the business from childhood in Palo Alto to the penthouse he bought in the Bahamas near the FTX headquarters.
“Probably, I will never be able to do anything that would positively affect my life as a whole. The truth is that I did what I believed was right,” — the unpublished thread stated.
In the drafts, SBF criticized some of his closest colleagues, peppering arguments with photographs from school days and stock-photo images of popcorn and a garden labyrinth.
Every few pages a key moment in the narrative is accompanied by links to clips by Alicia Keys, Katy Perry, or Rihanna. A separate link leads to a spreadsheet listing his Amazon orders for 2021.
One document titled ‘Inception V2’ is a lengthy attack on the current company’s legal team and includes a screenshot from Christopher Nolan’s film ‘Inception’.
SBF concluded that Sullivan & Cromwell, the restructuring firm for FTX, crafted a version alleging he unlawfully misappropriated user funds.
“They played incredibly well. If that had not destroyed almost everything I hold dear in life, I would tip my hat to them,” — he admitted.
In other documents, SBF accused former Alameda Research head Caroline Ellison and his ex-girlfriend of helping precipitate the FTX collapse.
Bankman-Fried also criticized Sam Trabucco, Ellison’s predecessor, who failed to build a constructive relationship with her. The latter reportedly preferred ‘going on dates with a bunch of guys during a round-the-world cruise on a boat, while quietly stepping back,’ SBF lamented.
Bankman-Fried described Ellison as poorly prepared for the job. The ex-CEO claimed that she cried during a meeting with him and refused to implement trading strategies that could have protected the business from a market crash.
After the incident, the former FTX head sent her a message with ‘the nastiest thing he had ever said to her’.
“If Alameda had hedged, it would have remained solvent and would have prevented this sad story”, — he lamented.
Concerns about the market maker intensified in spring 2022. At that time, a group of employees, including Ellison, were feverishly discussing a possible deficit in the firm’s accounts.
According to Bankman-Fried, the discussion centered on an account labeled fiat@. Regulators say that FTX executives used it to redirect customer funds to other projects.
“I’ve heard about this before, but I never quite knew what it was,” — he said.
In a document titled ‘Truth’ , SBF wrote that he does not lie.
“This is what I truly strongly believe,” — he explained.
As Bloomberg reported, the ethical compass of SBF’s mother could explain how her son could fail to notice obvious moral shortcomings in the name of what he believed to be the higher good.
Earlier, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers asked for his ‘temporary release’ to prepare for trial.