#ftx

Apple has reportedly shelled out $5 million to secure the rights to Michael Lewis' upcoming book on Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the former CEO of FTX. The book, titled "Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon," is set to launch on October 3, coinciding with the start of SBF's criminal trial in New York. A documentary is also in the pipeline, directed by Nanette Burstein, known for her work on crypto evangelist John McAfee and Hillary Clinton.

The FTX founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, has publicly declared his innocence. He responded to charges of fraud, money laundering, and recent allegations concerning breaches of election campaign finance laws. He articulated his defense on August 22nd in the Southern District Court of New York.

The Federal Reserve enforced the closure of Farmington State Bank, a lender that has ties with both FTX and Alameda Research. But what led to this? The bank's silent move towards a digital-centric strategy without keeping the Federal Reserve in the loop. To thicken the plot, Farmington had previously, in March 2022, secured a substantial $11.5 million funding from Alameda Research.

As he awaits his trial scheduled for October 2nd, Sam Bankman-Fried finds himself in the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center, notorious for its unsafe and unsanitary conditions. In the past two days, two notable developments have emerged: Yesterday, his legal team sought approval from a federal judge to allow him access to antidepressants while in detention. According to a letter from his doctor, Sam has been receiving psychiatric treatment since February 2019 and “has a history of Major Depressive Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).” Meanwhile, federal prosecutors claim that Bankman-Fried used funds taken from FTX customers to contribute more than $100 million to political campaigns before the 2022 U.S. midterm elections. Antidepressants won’t help here either.

As FTX undergoes restructuring, it finds itself clashing with the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors over asset governance. John Ray III has shown unease about UCC's idea of diverting $2.6 billion to U.S. Treasury bonds, all to offset anticipated professional expenses of nearly $330 million. FTX has formerly assailed UCC's strategy and blamed the committee of attempting illegal oversight over client assets.

In a recent courtroom confession, Ryan has agreed to pay a $6 million fine to the US government, reimburse FTX creditors with $5 million, and forfeit two Massachusetts properties along with his Porsche. The former FTX executive admitted to illicit campaign financing and running an unlicensed money transfer business. “I made $10 million in political contributions and called them loans, which I never intended to repay,” said Salame. He could face up to 10 years in federal prison.

Currently, Mantle DAO is evaluating a proposal that would prohibit the conversion of BIT tokens held by FTX Group into the new MNT token. Previously, Alameda Research, a branch of the FTX Group, swapped 3.4 million FTT tokens for a staggering 100 million BIT tokens, which equated to around $43 million. Yet FTX's descent into bankruptcy prompted DAO members to introduce this proposal. MNT is a token that was launched as Mantle's L2 mainnet went live. The blockchain was established by the Bybit exchange, which initiated the merge of BIT (BitDAO) and MNT tokens. Controversies aside, there's robust support for this proposal within the Mantle enclave, spotlighting the overarching investor community's interests.

The U.S. Department of Justice is escalating its legal fight against the founder of FTX, employing intimate writings from his ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison, who once managed investment company Alameda Research. From October 2nd, the court will see evidence pulled from Caroline's personal documents. A notable inclusion is a list termed "Things Sam is Freaking Out About," pointing towards alleged financial misconduct at FTX. The case's evidence will also feature undisclosed recordings and messages from FTX insiders.

The ex-CEO of FTX will now be detained in a New York jail until his court hearings are complete. The revealing of snippets from Caroline Ellison's diary to The New York Times, viewed as potential witness tampering, significantly impacted the verdict. Additionally, he has reportedly breached house arrest guidelines by accessing VPN and Signal.

Several leading venture capital companies such as Temasek, Sequoia Capital, and Softbank, are now facing legal challenges over alleged complicity in FTX fraud. The claimants in the lawsuit accuse the investors of using their power and financial resources to support the exchange's activities, despite numerous legal violations and misappropriation of customer funds by FTX. For instance, before the eventual bankruptcy of the exchange, Temasek affirmed that their rigorous eight-month scrutiny of financial aspects and compliance standards yielded no troubling findings.