Sam Bankman-Fried says he ‘didn’t ever try to commit fraud’

Sam Bankman-Fried says he ‘didn’t ever try to commit fraud’

NEW YORK - Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, attempted to distance himself from suggestions of fraud in his first public appearance since his company's collapse stunned investors and left creditors facing losses totaling billions of dollars.

Speaking via video link at the New York Times' Dealbook Summit with Andrew Ross Sorkin on Wednesday, Bankman-Fried said he did not knowingly commingle customer funds on FTX with funds at his proprietary trading firm, Alameda Research.

"I didn't ever try to commit fraud," Bankman-Fried said in the hour-long interview, adding that he doesn't personally think he has any criminal liability.

He also denied knowing the full scale of Alameda's position on FTX, claiming that it caught him by surprise.

The liquidity crunch at FTX came after Bankman-Fried secretly moved $10 billion of FTX customer funds to Alameda Research, Reuters reported, citing two people familiar with the matter. At least $1 billion in customer funds had vanished, the people said.

Bankman-Fried told Reuters in November the company did not "secretly transfer" but rather misread its "confusing internal labeling."

FTX filed for bankruptcy and Bankman-Fried stepped down as chief executive on Nov. 11, after traders pulled $6 billion from the platform in three days