On October 9, 2023, the authorized group of Samuel Bankman-Fried, represented by COHEN & GRESSER LLP, submitted a letter to U.S. District Choose Lewis A. Kaplan. The letter was filed in response to the courtroom’s October 1 order, which provisionally restricted the protection from discussing the involvement of FTX legal professionals within the case with out prior discover to the courtroom and the federal government.
Protection Seeks to Query Gary Wang
The protection is particularly fascinated with cross-examining Gary Wang, a former FTX co-founder, concerning the involvement of FTX legal professionals in structuring loans issued to him by Alameda Analysis. In the course of the preliminary cross-examination on October 9, Wang revealed that he had obtained private loans value roughly $200-$300 million from Alameda Analysis. These loans have been used to fund enterprise investments by FTX and to buy a home within the Bahamas.
Matters for Cross-Examination
The protection goals to query Wang on a number of subjects, together with:
1. Which attorneys have been concerned within the loans?
2. What was the character of their involvement?
3. What paperwork did they put together?
4. What have been the phrases of the mortgage and Wang’s obligations beneath it?
Implications for the Case
The protection argues that Wang’s understanding of the legal professionals’ involvement is straight related to establishing Bankman-Fried’s good religion and lack of felony intent. The federal government has alleged that Bankman-Fried took steps to hide the origin of investments and expenditures funded by transfers originating with Alameda Analysis.
The indictment additional alleges that Bankman-Fried completed this by borrowing over $1 billion from Alameda and overseeing “comparable borrowing by different FTX executives.” Wang’s understanding that these have been precise loans, structured by legal professionals and memorialized in formal promissory notes, is related to rebut the inference that these have been merely sham loans directed by Mr. Bankman-Fried to hide the supply of the funds.
The protection’s request to query the involvement of FTX legal professionals goals to counter the federal government’s allegations and set up Bankman-Fried’s lack of felony intent. The courtroom’s determination on this matter may considerably affect the continuing case, notably in relation to the cash laundering fees. If the courtroom grants the protection’s request, it might open the door for additional questioning that might probably exonerate Bankman-Fried.
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