Former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried will testify as a part of his protection case, stated his lawyer Mark Cohen.
In an Oct. 25 phone convention between SBF’s attorneys, prosecutors and Decide Lewis Kaplan, Cohen stated following the prosecution finishing the presentation of its case on Oct. 26, his staff deliberate to name three witnesses in addition to Bankman-Fried to the stand. Decide Kaplan stated he would permit the case to go “straight by” on Oct. 26, shifting straight from the prosecutors’ closing witness to the protection’s first one.
In keeping with Cohen, the protection just isn’t anticipated to take greater than three days to question the three potential witnesses, which included an lawyer based mostly within the Bahamas, Joseph Pimbley from litigation consulting agency PF2 Securities, and a witness to testify on the titles and duties of former FTX staff. Altogether by Kaplan’s estimation, the protection case might take “maybe an hour”, excluding SBF’s testimony.
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The US authorities is predicted to wrap up its case in opposition to SBF on the morning of Oct. 26, with protection attorneys seemingly ending the next day. Prosecutors added they had been unsure whether or not rebuttal witnesses can be vital relying on Bankman-Fried’s testimony. Closing arguments might be held earlier than Oct. 31.
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Kaplan questioned whether or not the courtroom would take into account pursuing a particular verdict within the case. The scenario is one through which “the jury provides its findings on factual points within the case, with out essentially stating which get together ought to win,” according to Cornell Regulation Faculty’s Authorized Info Institute.
“[T]he authorities has a single substantive wire fraud rely associated to clients and the speculation is that the defendant [SBF] made false representations and was in a belief relationship with depositors and took cash,” stated Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicolas Roos. “I feel there’s actually a component to which these are very intertwined to the extent that the false representations created an impression of belief and confidence amongst the victims of the crime.”
The potential testimony of Bankman-Fried would comply with statements from former FTX and Alameda executives together with Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang and Nishad Singh, all of whom admitted to committing crimes on the stand — usually on the course of SBF. The legal case alleged SBF was accountable for Alameda utilizing FTX funds from clients with out their consent.
It’s unclear what data Bankman-Fried might present to the jury that will counter the narrative put forth by different witnesses to date. The trial has been on hiatus since Oct. 19 however is predicted to renew on Oct. 26.
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