Fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried welcomed with APPLAUSE for scandal interview, Internet says 'he's a thief'
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, made his first public appearance since his company's collapse made creditors face losses totaling billions of dollars. Bankman-Fried spoke to Andrew Ross Sorkin via video link at the New York Times' Dealbook Summit on Wednesday, November 30. During the interview, he said he did not knowingly commingle customer funds on FTX with funds at Alameda Research, his proprietary trading firm.
Social media is furious after a video showed the crowd erupting in applause as Bankman-Fried was called for the interview. "I didn't ever try to commit fraud," Bankman-Fried, adding that he does not think he has any criminal liability. He further said that he did not know the full scale of Alameda's position on FTX, and claimed that it took him by surprise.