During the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of crypto exchange FTXshocking revelations emerged from the testimonies of the former Alameda investigation CEO Caroline Ellison.
According to a TechCrunch reportEllison testified that the crypto trading company paid Chinese officials to unlock their Alameda trading accounts on OKX and Huobi in China.
Judge Lewis Kaplan clarified that Bankman-Fried was not charged with bribery in this case. Yet the evidence was presented to demonstrate the trust and motives between Bankman-Fried and Ellison.
Former CEO of Alameda Research Reveals Hidden Payments to Chinese Officials
According to Ellison’s testimony, while Bankman-Fried was CEO in 2020, approximately $1 billion worth of accounts were frozen.
In November 2021, Bankman-Fried claimed that a colleague, David Ma, who had connections in China, had found a way to unfreeze the accounts.
Ellison, who by then had become co-CEO of Alameda, made crypto transfers totaling about $100 million to $150 million to reopen the accounts, unaware that the payments had been made to Chinese officials.
Ellison stated that Bankman-Fried and Sam Trabucco instructed her to make the payments via a Signal chat.
Before the accounts were reopened, Ellison revealed that Employees of Alameda explored various strategies to unlock the accounts, including involving lawyers and government officials.
Ellison testified that they even considered using Thai prostitutes to open accounts on the exchanges to facilitate money transfers, but these attempts were unsuccessful.
An Alameda trader, “Handi,” resigned in early January 2022 over her objection to paying bribes to Chinese officials as her father held a government position.
Courtroom conflict
Ellison testified that Handi had a heated argument with Bankman-Fried over the issue, during which he allegedly told her to “shut up.” A month after Handi’s resignation, Trabucco asked in a Signal chat whether Handi’s father had reported them immediately, to which Bankman-Fried responded with “lol.”
Ellison shared a list of accusers with notes, one of which referred to a payment of “150 million of the thing?” about the money transferred to recover the bills.
According to the report, Ellison explained that she did not want to explicitly state in writing that the payment was made to China to unlock the accounts for fear that it could be leaked and used in court against Alameda Research.
Bankman-Fried’s attorney, Mark Cohen, tried to throw out Ellison’s statement about avoiding documentary evidence of the payments, but Judge Kaplan rejected the request.
The trial continues to uncover new details and allegations, shedding light on the actions and motivations of the individuals involved, and the cryptocurrency community eagerly awaits further developments and the subsequent outcome of the trial.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com