Appearing at times contrite, at times evasive, former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried told viewers at a New York Times DealBook Summit that he was “deeply sorry about what happened,” referring to the collapse into bankruptcy of his crypto currency exchange and hedge fund in early November, but that he was unaware of any intentional misuses of customer funds.
Host Andrew Ross Sorkin opened their video interview, which Bankman-Fried joined from the Bahamas, with a question from a man named “Andrew,” who claimed to have lost his life savings investing in the FTT crypto currency on the FTX exchange.
“Bankman-Fried stole $2 million from me,” the man stated. “Can you please ask why he decided to steal my life savings, and the $10 billion more from customers to give to his hedge fund, Alameda?” Alameda Research, a now-bankrupt hedge fund, was a sister company to the FTX crypto exchange, both owned by Bankman-Fried, and it is alleged that customer funds flowed freely between the two entities….