Former FTX CEO’s Legal Team Seeks to Use Exchange’s Terms of Service in Defense
An Unusual Defense Strategy
The lawyers representing Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX, are attempting to introduce certain information from the cryptocurrency exchange’s terms of service during witness testimonies.
In a motion filed on October 12th with the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, SBF’s legal team stated that their motion aimed to clarify “certain evidentiary issues” in the ongoing criminal trial. This revolves around the prosecution and defense’s conflicting theories regarding the alleged misuse of FTX customer funds.
Understanding User Deposits on FTX
The defense lawyers claim that the prosecution intends to call witnesses to understand their “understanding and expectation” of how their deposits would be used on FTX. The defense argues that regardless of how users interpreted FTX’s terms of service, “compliance with these terms constitutes a defense against the alleged crime.”
