Sam Bankman-Fried claims bankruptcy was forced by lawyers, citing court filing
Sam Bankman-Fried, the convicted founder of collapsed crypto exchange FTX, returned to public view on Monday with a new set of claims targeting the lawyers who oversaw the company’s bankruptcy filing and the prosecutors who tried his case.
In a post on X, Bankman-Fried argued that the bankruptcy itself was unnecessary and financially motivated, reviving a narrative he has increasingly pushed from prison as he seeks to recast the collapse as legal and political warfare rather than fraud, CoinPedia reports.
Bankman-Fried says bankruptcy was forced by counsel
“FTX was never bankrupt. I never filed for it,” SBF wrote. “The lawyers took over the company and 4 hours later they filed a bogus bankruptcy so they could pilfer it for money.”
He said his position was supported by a sworn court filing from January 2023 describing conversations with attorney Mr. Miller before the Chapter 11 filing. According to the account summarized in that filing, Bankman-Fried told Miller that FTX.US should not be included because the technical team had reviewed wallets and concluded the U.S. unit was not impacted by the broader customer deficit. He said he wanted FTX.US preserved and sold, with proceeds used to repay shareholders.
The filing also alleges Miller told him that Sullivan & Cromwell needed FTX.US included because “FTX.US had the cash to pay S&C its retainer,” and that there was “over $200 million in LedgerX cash” that could cover legal costs.
Post echoes broader attacks on trial and prosecutors
Bankman-Fried’s comments were framed as a response to Bitcoin trader Alex Wice, who called the FTX trial a “kangaroo court” and argued Judge Lewis Kaplan limited certain defense lines, including a “relied on lawyers” argument. Bankman-Fried replied: “Agree with almost all of this.”
He separately claimed prosecutors “deliberately” hid evidence from the jury and alleged pressure tactics against former FTX executive Ryan Salame, describing the case as “lawfare”.
The legal baseline remains unchanged
A federal jury convicted Bankman-Fried on seven counts tied to the misuse of customer funds, and a judge later sentenced him to 25 years in prison. U.S. prosecutors have said the fraud involved more than $8 billion of customer money.
Conclusion
Bankman-Fried’s latest statements mark a renewed attempt to challenge the narrative around FTX’s collapse and the decisions that followed its failure. He is using public posts and past court filings to argue that the bankruptcy was unnecessary and driven by outside legal interests. Despite these claims, his conviction and 25-year sentence remain in force, and no court has overturned the findings of fraud tied to FTX’s $8 billion customer losses.
Read also: SBF says FTX had $8B left, blames lawyers for bankruptcy chaos
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