O founder of the cryptocurrency platform FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, was sentenced this Thursday to 25 years in prison, after having embezzled millions of dollars from thousands of people.
According to Sky News, the businessman could face up to 100 years in prison, but his lawyers argued last month that such a sentence would be “primitive”, arguing that the sentence should be five years in prison.
The international press also reports that prosecutors asked for a prison sentence of 40 to 50 years, claiming that the public needed to be protected from someone who committed such actions, which led to the bankruptcy of the platform in question, and also pointed out that a Heavier sentencing would stop other criminals.
According to the judge responsible, Bankman-Fried lied when he testified that he was not aware that the funds that some of the platform’s clients had entrusted to him were being used with great “risk”.
Bankman-Fried, who at the age of 30 was already a millionaire thanks to the cryptocurrency platform FTX, addressed the court directly today to say that he regrets what happened and that there were things he should have done and things he should not have done.
He also admitted that he made “a series of bad decisions” as executive chairman of FTX and also praised former business partners, such as co-founder Gary Wang and ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison, who testified against him.
The North American court considered that the former businessman committed several perjuries in prison and ordered the reimbursement of more than 11 billion euros (10.17 billion euros at current exchange rates), after millions of people were affected by the scheme of fraud and subsequent bankruptcy of FTX and other companies founded by Bankman-Fried.
Judge Kaplan said today that he has concluded that the amount of losses to Bankman-Fried’s victims is more than $550 million (462.28 million euros), with FTX indicating that it expects to settle and reimburse customers “in full.”
FTX, which was one of the largest cryptocurrency platforms in the world and was once valued at $32 billion, went bankrupt in November 2022 after many users rushed to withdraw funds in the face of reports questioning the company’s solvency.
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Source: https://www.noticiasaominuto.com/mundo/2530276/fundador-da-ftx-condenado-a-25-anos-de-prisao-apos-desviar-milhoes
