Sam Bankman-Fried convicted of fraud over FTX’s collapse

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FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted of fraud and money laundering by a New York jury in a landmark criminal verdict that is likely to condemn the former crypto tycoon to decades in prison and bolster US authorities’ attempts to bring an unruly financial sector to heel.

The decision in the highest-profile cryptocurrency-related trial to date was delivered just after 7:40pm on Thursday, following less than five hours of deliberation by the jury’s nine women and three men over seven charges including wire fraud on FTX customers and conspiracy to commit securities fraud and money laundering. He was convicted on all counts.

A solemn Bankman-Fried stood motionless, facing the jury, and showed little emotion as the verdict was read out in the packed federal courtroom in Manhattan, while his parents Joe Bankman and Barbara Fried embraced each other in the gallery and lowered their heads, despondent.

Speaking on the steps of the courthouse shortly after the verdict, US attorney Damian Williams said that Bankman-Fried carried out a fraud “designed to make him the king of crypto”. While “the cryptocurrency industry might be new . . . this kind of corruption is as old as time”.

Flanked by the victorious prosecution team, Williams added that the verdict was a warning to those who think “they can talk their way out of it if they get caught”.

Mark Cohen, a lawyer for Bankman-Fried, said: “We respect the jury’s decision. But we are very disappointed with the result. Mr Bankman-Fried maintains his innocence and will continue to vigorously fight the charges against him.”

The culmination of the trial comes almost exactly a year after FTX fell into bankruptcy after being unable to honour withdrawal requests from thousands of customers spooked by a market downturn and damaging revelations about the exchange’s opaque financial…