Former FTX CEO Trial Resumes

UNITED STATES – The first witness in Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial, cocoa broker Marc-Antoine Juilliard, was seen leaving a Manhattan courthouse on Wednesday as the criminal trial gets underway.

In his opening statement, defense lawyer Mark Cohen acknowledged FTX lent money to the former CEO’s hedge fund Alameda Research, but said Bankman-Fried “reasonably believed” that those loans were permitted and backed up by collateral.

Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to charges he used FTX customer money to prop up his hedge fund, buy luxury real estate, and donate to U.S. political campaigns and candidates.