Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyers reveal his planned testimony in FTX fraud trial
Lawyers for Sam Bankman-Fried late Wednesday revealed details of his planned testimony if he takes the witness stand at his FTX fraud trial.
Bankman-Fried’s legal team told Judge Lewis Kaplan in a six-page letter that he would address three key areas in such testimony, including suggesting that he relied on FTX’s former legal team in allowing some actions that later led to the implosion and bankruptcy of the cryptocurrency exchange.
Lawyers for the disgraced FTX chief also said he would also cite his understanding of common industry practices, as well as his intention to comply with Bahamian authorities.
Bankman-Fried faces seven criminal counts, including wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering, that could land him in prison for more than 100 years if he is convicted at his trial in Manhattan federal court.
Bankman-Fried, the son of two Stanford legal scholars, has pleaded not guilty in the case.
Will he or won’t he?
The letter to Kaplan appears to cast doubt on whether the disgraced crypto billionaire will take the witness stand.
Earlier Wednesday, one of Bankman-Fried’s two chief trial attorneys, Mark Cohen, said in a conference call that his client would testify as would three other people.
But in his letter Wednesday evening, Cohen wrote, “Accordingly, should Mr. Bankman-Fried decide to testify in his defense, he should be permitted to testify as to his understanding of industry practices regarding use of omnibus wallets to show his good faith and lack of criminal intent.”
The statement suggests Bankman-Fried might stand down on testifying, should the defense’s requests be rejected.
Blaming ex-FTX lawyers
Kaplan previously ruled that Bankman-Fried’s lawyers could not make a so-called advice of counsel argument in their opening remarks since it might risk prejudicing the jury.
But Cohen in the new letter told Kaplan that although prosecutors “previously moved to preclude Mr. Bankman-Fried from offering evidence or argument regarding the involvement of attorneys,” Bankman-Fried’s “knowledge of the involvement of counsel in these matters” is “directly relevant” to “his state of mind and good faith at the time.”
Cohen cited specific examples where, at the guidance of FTX lawyers, Bankman-Fried adopted a policy which prosecutors argued shows his criminality.
One example was company-wide policy on the encrypted messaging app Signal.
Caroline Ellison, Bankman-Fried’s ex-girlfriend who also ran crypto hedge fund Alameda Research, testified SBF directed FTX and Alameda employees to use the disappearing message setting on Signal. She said he told them to be very careful about what they put in writing because of potential legal exposure.
Lesser-known FTX co-founder and ex-chief technology officer Gary Wang, as well as senior FTX developer Adam Yedidia, also testified to the directive that Signal communications be set to auto-delete.
The government similarly asserted in its opening argument before the jury that the 30-day auto-deletion policy on Signal was because Bankman-Fried “didn’t want a paper trail for his crimes.”
But Cohen wrote that Bankman-Fried’s understanding was that these auto-deletion policies were “instituted under the guidances of lawyers.”
In another example, Cohen pointed to the billions of dollars worth of FTX customer deposits that went directly into a bank account controlled by Alameda.
Prosecutors say customer cash was shuttled to Alameda via two channels: users depositing cash directly into accounts held by Alameda and through a secret backdoor that was baked into FTX’s code.
But attorneys for Bankman-Fried allege that SBF’s “understanding as to the involvement of counsel in the formation” of these accounts and in the payment arrangement established between FTX and Alameda would be “directly relevant” to the defendant’s “good faith belief that there was nothing improper about using Alameda-controlled entities to accept FTX customer deposits.”
In these and other examples involving the guidance of former FTX counsel, defense attorneys for Bankman-Fried return to the same rationale that the ex-FTX chief was acting in good faith and not with the criminal intent alleged by the government.
Blaming the Bahamian authorities
Wang has testified that last Nov. 12, after FTX declared bankruptcy, Bankman-Fried asked that Wang drive with him to the Bahamas Securities Commission for a meeting.
On the drive, Bankman-Fried told Wang to transfer assets to Bahamian liquidators because he believed they would allow him to maintain control of the company. Wang said he was not in the meeting with the securities authority, though Bankman-Fried’s dad was present. Wang said he returned to the U.S. and met with American prosecutors the next day.
He faces up to 50 years in prison when he faces a judge for sentencing following this trial. He told jurors he signed a six-page cooperation agreement that requires him to meet with prosecutors, answer their questions truthfully and turn over evidence.
Feds further allege that SBF prioritized paying certain creditors, including Bahamian authorities. In its pretrial motion, the government pointed to Bankman-Fried’s “criminal intent,” as well as the “false nature of his representations” that he wanted to “do right by customers.”
Cohen writes, “We anticipate eliciting testimony from Mr. Bankman-Fried regarding his good faith intentions on November 12, 2022 with respect to compliance with orders by Bahamian authorities to transfer assets from FTX to the Securities Commission of The Bahamas over the objections of FTX’s in-house counsel and U.S. bankruptcy counsel.”
“Such testimony would require Mr. Bankman-Fried to discuss his belief that the Bahamian authorities were acting in the best interests of FTX customers, whereas FTX’s in-house counsel and outside bankruptcy counsel in the United States had conflicts of interest,” the letter continues.
Blaming the status quo in crypto
Bankman-Fried’s understanding of commonly accepted industry practices may also figure prominently in his testimony.
In the crypto vernacular, an omnibus account is where the digital assets of multiple users are held collectively in a single account. Cryptocurrency exchanges and others in the industry typically use this type of collective storage strategy into order to slash costs and streamline the workflow.
In the case of FTX, the commingling of customer and company assets has become a major point of contention between the government and the defense.
Prosecutors argued that FTX’s “use of omnibus wallets is relevant to this case,” the letter said.
“For example, the Government elicited testimony from Mr. Sun that he did not believe that FTX customer deposits could permissibly be commingled with other funds of the business … and that FTX utilized an omnibus wallet for all customer digital assets,” the document continues, referring to FTX’s former general counsel, Can Sun.
“We respectfully submit that Mr. Bankman-Fried’s knowledge of industry practices regarding the use of omnibus wallets is relevant to his good faith belief that his conduct was permissible,” the letter added.
“Mr. Bankman-Fried’s understanding of whether FTX’s actions were consistent with the crypto industry practices with regard to use of omnibus wallets is probative of his good faith belief that FTX’s (and his own) actions were proper.”
A federal court judge in Michigan has placed the once-promising electric truck brand Bollinger Motors’ assets into receivership following claims that the company’s owners still owe its founder, Robert Bollinger, more than $10 million.
Bollinger Motors first came to fame in the “draw a truck, get a billion dollars” stage of the EV revolution that saw Nikola rise to a higher market cap than Ford for a brief time. Robert Bollinger wasn’t able to capitalize quickly enough to get his trucks into production, though – and a late stage pivot to sell the brand to Mullen Automotive and launch a medium-duty commercial truck doesn’t appear to have been enough to save it.
Now, Automotive News is reporting on some of the more convoluted details of the Mullen purchase deal, with Robert (for ease of distinguishing the man from the brand) claiming that Mullen Automotive owes him more than $10 million for a loan he made to the company in 2024.
Just how Robert ended up giving Mullen Automotive $10 million to take his eponymous truck brand off his hands is probably one of those capitalistic mysteries that I’ll never understand, but Mullen’s response was perfectly clear: they didn’t even bother to show up to court.
Bollinger claims that at least two suppliers are also suing Mullen for unpaid debts. As such, the Honorable Terrence G. Berg has put the Bollinger brand into receivership, and its assets have been frozen in preparation for everything being liquidated. Worse, for Bollinger, the official court filings reveal a company that is really very much doing not awesome:
The testimony and evidence—which Defendant’s counsel conceded accurately reflected Defendant’s finances—showed that Defendant is in crisis. For months Defendant has owed more than twenty million dollars to suppliers, contractors, service providers, and owners of physical space. These debts are owed to parties who are critical for Defendant’s functioning. CEO Bryan Chambers testified that Defendant was locked out of its production facilities on May 5, 2025, and that the owner of the production facilities was seeking to permanently evict Defendant. The Court heard that Defendant had been prevented from accessing its critical manufacturing accounting system for a short time at the end of April 2025, before making a partial payment to restart services.
US DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN
I’m not sure if you caught all that, but Bollinger’s CEO has been locked out the company’s facilities and getting evicted, the company is more than $20 million in debt, and that debt is owed to people Bollinger absolutely needs in order to keep going.
You can read the full court decision, which I’ve embedded here, below. Once you’ve taken it all in, feel free to rush into the comments to say you told me so, since I really thought hoped the Bollinger B1 had a shot. Silly me.
Bollinger v. Bollinger case
SOURCES: Automotive News, Justia, Yahoo!.
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Mammoth Solar, a 1.3 gigawatt (GW) solar farm in northern Indiana, is now powering into its biggest construction phase yet, cementing its place as one of the largest solar projects in the US.
The solar farm is set to increase Indiana’s solar capacity by more than 20% once it’s fully online. And with construction ramping up this month, developer Doral Renewables has given Bechtel Full Notice to Proceed on the design, engineering, and construction of three major phases of the project: Mammoth South, Mammoth Central I, and Mammoth Central II. Together, these phases will generate 900 MW of clean energy.
That’s enough electricity to power around 200,000 homes with clean energy, helping Indiana shift away from fossil fuels while boosting the local economy.
Construction is already underway, and over the next two years, Bechtel will install around 2 million solar panels, with about half of them made in the US. The company is also handling all engineering, procurement, and construction work, using its digital project management tools and autonomous tech to keep everything on track.
At the peak of the buildout, Mammoth Solar is expected to create over 1,200 jobs, with at least 15% of those set aside for apprenticeships.
Bechtel says its success will hinge on strong collaboration with local trades and vendors. The company is working closely with craft professionals and is committed to being a reliable community partner throughout construction.
Once the solar farm is complete in 2027, Doral Renewables plans to roll out agrivoltaics across the site. That means livestock grazing and crop cultivation will happen right alongside energy production, giving farmers in the area a way to keep working their land while supporting clean energy development.
Read more: Solar adds more new capacity to the US grid in 2024 than any energy source in 20 years
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BYD is about to launch an even smaller EV, but this one’s a little different. It’s BYD’s first kei car. You know, those tiny vehicles that dominate Japan’s city streets? BYD’s mini EV was just spotted out in public, giving us our first real look at the upcoming kei car.
BYD’s first mini EV was spotted in public
Last week, rumors surfaced that BYD was developing its first kei car, which would compete with top-selling models from Nissan, Honda, Mitsubishi, and other Japanese brands.
Kei cars, or “K-Car,” as they are sometimes called, are a class of ultra-compact vehicles that cannot be longer than 3.4 meters (134″). To put that into perspective, BYD’s smallest EV currently, the Seagull (called the Dolphin Mini overseas), is 3,780 mm (148.8″) long.
The mini vehicles are ideal in Japan because they are so small, making it easy to get around tight city streets. They are also more affordable and efficient than larger vehicles.
BYD’s mini EV was spotted for the first time during a road test this week by IT Home (via CarNewsChina), revealing a familiar look. It has that boxy, compact look of a typical kei car with sliding side doors.
According to reports, BYD is developing a new platform for the model. It will reportedly include a 20 kWh battery, good for 180 km (112 miles) WLTC range. By using its in-house Blade LFP batteries, BYD is expected to have a cost advantage.
BYD’s upcoming mini EV is expected to start at around 2.5 million yen, or about $18,000. That’s about the same as the Nissan Sakura (2.59 million yen), Japan’s best-selling EV last year.
既出ですがBYDの日本向けEV軽自動車と言われているフロントとリアからのスパイショット。 pic.twitter.com/CcV5pihpWc
— 主夫まぬか (@syufumanuka) May 16, 2025
Last year, around 1.55 million kei cars were sold in Japan, accounting for roughly 40% of new vehicle sales. Honda’s N-Box was the top-selling kei car (EV or gas) for the third straight year.
As Nikkei reported, some are already calling BYD’s electric kei car “a huge threat.” A Suzuki dealer said, “Young people do not have a negative view of BYD. It would be a huge threat if the company launches cheap models in Japan.”
BYD already sells several electric cars in Japan, including the Atto 3 SUV, Dolphin, and Seal. Last month, the company launched the new Sealion 7 midsize electric SUV, starting at 4.95 million yen ($34,500).
Although Japan isn’t really an EV hot spot, with sales falling 33% in 2024 to just under 60,000 units, BYD sees an opportunity.
By making virtually every car component in-house, including batteries, BYD can offer EVs at such low prices while still making a profit. BYD’s cheapest and best-selling electric car, the Seagull, starts at under $10,000 (69,800 yuan) in China.
With new smart driving and charging tech rolling out, BYD’s electric cars are getting smarter and even more efficient.
Can BYD’s mini EV compete with Japanese brands? At the right price, it may have a chance. Check back soon for more on the upcoming kei car. We’ll keep you up to date with the latest.
Source: Sina, CarNewsChina
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