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Sam Bankman-Fried has been found guilty of defrauding customers of his cryptocurrency exchange out of billions of dollars.

The 31-year-old could be sentenced to more than 100 years in prison after stealing money from clients of FTX.

A Manhattan jury convicted him on all seven counts after a month-long trial.

FTX collapsed last November, shocking financial markets and wiping out the crypto tycoon’s estimated $26bn (£21bn) fortune.

He was arrested in the Bahamas in December and extradited to the US.

Bankman-Fried – who pleaded not guilty to two counts of fraud and five of conspiracy – clasped his hands together as the verdict was delivered.

He admitted “mistakes” in running FTX when he testified last week, but denied stealing at least $10bn of his customers’ money.

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Prosecutors claimed he used the funds for risky bets at his hedge fund Alameda Research – with a huge financial black hole emerging when crypto markets fell sharply.

FTX abruptly halted withdrawals last November and crypto’s second-largest exchange – with more than a million customers – went bankrupt.

FTX logo is seen in this illustration taken March 31, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
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FTX allowed people to buy crypto and charged a fee for each transaction

Bankman-Fried’s fall from grace has seen him compared to well-known financial fraudsters Bernie Madoff and ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ Jordan Belfort.

“He didn’t bargain for his three loyal deputies taking that stand and telling you the truth: that he was the one with the plan, the motive and the greed to raid FTX customer deposits – billions and billions of dollars – to give himself money, power, influence,” prosecutor Danielle Sassoon told the jury.

“He thought the rules did not apply to him. He thought that he could get away with it.”

Bankman-Fried built ‘pyramid of deceit’

He was the mop-haired, cargo short-wearing darling of the crypto world.

Sam Bankman-Fried build the FTX cryptocurrency exchange into a business valued at $32bn.

There were flash TV ads featuring basketball icon Steph Curry and actor Larry David. Tennis star Naomi Osaka wore FTX branded gear and the company logo adorned the stadium of the Miami Heat.

FTX was huge and Sam Bankman-Fried rode high on excess.

Home was a $35m property in the Bahamas, a place where he knew the neighbours – FTX spent $300m buying up vacation properties on the island nation for company staff.

But it was success built on fraudulent foundations.

In the words of the prosecution, Bankman-Fried built a “pyramid of deceit” and treated FTX as his own personal piggy bank, defrauding customers out of more than $10bn.

The consequences of his arrest have since reverberated through the crypto world – other firms have collapsed and there has been a tightening in regulation.

Bankman-Fried’s defence lawyers argued that the 31-year-old was simply a “math nerd” who never set out to break the law and was a victim of circumstances beyond his control.

He is the math nerd who can count on a lengthy stay in prison.

Alameda’s former CEO Caroline Ellison and former FTX executives Gary Wang and Nishad Singh pleaded guilty and gave evidence against Bankman-Fried last month.

They said he told them to help Alameda loot funds from FTX and lie to lenders and investors.

The defence claimed the trio had falsely implicated him to get a lighter sentence, but after their testimony Bankman-Fried took the calculated risk to give evidence.

He admitted making a mistake by not having a dedicated risk management team, but claimed he thought Alameda’s borrowing from FTX was allowed.

He told the jury he did not realise how big the debts had become until just before both firms collapsed.

Read more:
Why industry may never recover from spectacular downfall of ‘crypto king’

How FTX founder went from £21bn empire to jail

Former crypto hedge fund Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison arrives for the trial of former FTX Chief Executive Sam Bankman-Fried who is facing fraud charges over the collapse of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange, at Federal Court in New York City, U.S., October 11, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
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Former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison (centre) gave evidence against him

The son of Stanford law professors, and an MIT graduate himself, Bankman-Fried was known for his distinctive curly hair and casual dress – as well as mixing with celebrities.

His trial even heard that he believed he had a chance of one day becoming US president.

Bankman-Fried had been in custody since August after the judge said he had probably tampered with witnesses and revoked his $250m bail.

He will be sentenced on 28 March 2024.

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Stock markets slump for second day running after Trump announces tariffs – in worst day for indexes since COVID

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Stock markets slump for second day running after Trump announces tariffs - in worst day for indexes since COVID

Worldwide stock markets have plummeted for the second day running as the fallout from Donald Trump’s global tariffs continues.

While European and Asian markets suffered notable falls, American indexes were the worst hit, with Wall Street closing to a sea of red on Friday following Thursday’s rout – the worst day in US markets since the COVID-19 pandemic.

As it happened: Worst week’s trading in five years

All three of the US’s major indexes were down by more than 5% at market close; The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 5.5%, the S&P 500 was 5.97% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 5.82%.

The Nasdaq was also 22% below its record-high set in December, which indicates a bear market.

Read more: What’s a bear market?

Ever since the US president announced the tariffs on Wednesday evening, analysts estimate that around $4.9trn (£3.8trn) has been wiped off the value of the global stock market.

More on Donald Trump

Mr Trump has remained unapologetic as the markets struggle, posting in all-caps on Truth Social before the markets closed that “only the weak will fail”.

The UK’s leading stock market, the FTSE 100, also suffered its worst daily drop in more than five years, closing 4.95% down, a level not seen since March 2020.

And the Japanese exchange Nikkei 225 dropped by 2.75% at end of trading, down 20% from its recent peak in July last year.

Pic: Reuters
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US indexes had the worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pic: Reuters

Trump holds trade deal talks – reports

It comes as a source told CNN that Mr Trump has been in discussions with Vietnamese, Indian and Israeli representatives to negotiate bespoke trade deals that could alleviate proposed tariffs on those countries before a deadline next week.

The source told the US broadcaster the talks were being held in advance of the reciprocal levies going into effect next week.

Vietnam faced one of the highest reciprocal tariffs announced by the US president this week, with 46% rates on imports. Israeli imports face a 17% rate, and Indian goods will be subject to 26% tariffs.

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Do Trump’s tariffs add up?

Read more:
Markets gave Trump a clear no-confidence vote
There were no winners from Trump’s tariff gameshow

China – hit with 34% tariffs on imported goods – has also announced it will issue its own levy of the same rate on US imports.

Mr Trump said China “played it wrong” and “panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do” in another all-caps Truth Social post earlier on Friday.

Later, on Air Force One, the US president told reporters that “the beauty” of the tariffs is that they allow for negotiations, referencing talks with Chinese company ByteDance on the sale of social media app TikTok.

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Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump

He said: “We have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say, ‘We’ll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariffs?’

“The tariffs give us great power to negotiate. They always have.”

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Financial markets were always going to respond to Trump tariffs but they’re also battling with another problem

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Financial markets were always going to respond to Trump tariffs but they're also battling with another problem

Global financial markets gave a clear vote of no-confidence in President Trump’s economic policy.

The damage it will do is obvious: costs for companies will rise, hitting their earnings.

The consequences will ripple throughout the global economy, with economists now raising their expectations for a recession, not only in the US, but across the world.

Tariffs latest: FTSE 100 suffers biggest daily drop since COVID

Financial investors had been gradually re-calibrating their expectations of Donald Trump over the past few months.

Hopes that his actions may not match his rhetoric were dashed on Wednesday as he imposed sweeping tariffs on the US’ trading partners, ratcheting up protectionism to a level not seen in more than a century.

Markets were always going to respond to that but they are also battling with another problem: the lack of certainty when it comes to Trump.

More on Donald Trump

He is a capricious figure and we can only guess his next move. Will he row back? How far is he willing to negotiate and offer concessions?

Read more:
There were no winners from Trump’s tariff gameshow
Trade war sparks ‘$2.2trn’ global market sell-off

These are massive unknowns, which are piled on to uncertainty about how countries will respond.

China has already retaliated and Europe has indicated it will go further.

That will compound the problems for the global economy and undoubtedly send shivers through the markets.

Much is yet to be determined, but if there’s one thing markets hate, it’s uncertainty.

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Court confirms sacking of South Korean president who declared martial law

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Court confirms sacking of South Korean president who declared martial law

South Korea’s constitutional court has confirmed the dismissal of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached in December after declaring martial law.

His decision to send troops onto the streets led to the country’s worst political crisis in decades.

The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.

The president was also said to have taken actions “beyond the powers provided in the constitution”.

Demonstrators who stayed overnight near the constitutional court wait for the start of a rally calling for the president to step down. Pic: AP
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Demonstrators stayed overnight near the constitutional court. Pic: AP

Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.

The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.

Read more from Sky News:
Highs and lows of Five-Year Keir
MP tells Sky News she was targeted online by Tate brothers

More on South Korea

The Constitutional Court is under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement of the impeachment trial. Pic: AP
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The court was under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement. Pic: AP

After suddenly declaring martial law, Mr Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly.

He has argued that he sought to maintain order, but some senior military and police officers sent there have told hearings and investigators that Mr Yoon ordered them to drag out politicians to prevent an assembly vote on his decree.

His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.

The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.

South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.

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