Caroline Ellison, the former chief executive officer of Alameda Research, told a New York court that Sam Bankman-Fried told her to commit crimes that led up to the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

New York

Former FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried has been found guilty of defrauding investors and customers.

Bankman-Fried Guilty

Sam Bankman-Fried faces ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison in court

Caroline Ellison has taken the stand at the trial of Sam Bankman Freed. They are currently on a break, but just before then, she testified that he directed her to commit crimes. Bloomberg's Shonali Basak is outside the New York courthouse and joins us live. So Shonali, what do we know? We know that Caroline Ellison, who has been a pivotal witness, both for the sake of the prosecution, as well as someone who's come up in the sake of the defense, she has come up and immediately said, yes, we did commit crimes, Sam and I and others. And she said that Sam Bankman Freed directed her as the CEO of Alameda to commit those crimes. She said, we ultimately took around $14 billion, some of which we were able to pay back. She said that Alameda took several billion dollars from FTX customers and used it for its own investments and to pay off lenders. Now, remember, we expect some critical evidence to be coming up in the sake of her testimony, particularly from the prosecution. Things like her personal diaries that described her state of mind and relationship to Sam Bankman Freed, who was her on and off, on again, off again, boyfriend throughout a period of time, who she met back at her time at Jane Street. And also we expect that there will be a recording from a November meeting when FTX was facing serious dire straits. Now, only 10 minutes of testimony had started afternoon. They are on a break, as you're saying. We expect this to go on now for more hours. She follows Gary Wang, who was also an FTX co-founder, who had also pled guilty to a lot of these crimes. So very pivotal testimony coming out of the courthouse today. Shanali, should we expect that she will testify for as many days as Gary Wang did, considering it was, what, three days and change for him? Oh, well, we don't know how long the testimony, of course, will go on for. I think it's pretty good news that it's happened so early in the trial. This is only the start of the second week of what we expect to be a six-week trial. There's a third person here who had pled guilty as well and has been cooperating with the prosecution, and that is Nisad Shing, who was in charge of a lot of engineering operations over at FTX. So the three taken together, along with many others, such as Anthony Scaramucci, or even potentially Sam Bankman Freed's own brother, who had been in charge of his political donations and had led a lot of his foundation work, are also expected to testify over the course of six weeks. So, of course, this is among the most pivotal of testimonies that we will see. The tension is palpable. You had had her take a while to stand up and identify who Sam Bankman Freed was in the room, and you also have Sam Bankman Freed inside the courtroom, typing furiously as she speaks. And so, certainly, a pivotal moment in this trial and between the relationships of these people who had started out as friends, rode the crypto wave to the top, and then fractured as it fell apart in that November, where billions were lost on behalf of customers, and these three people themselves. What has Sam Bankman Freed's behavior been like? You point out that he's typing a lot. I believe that's on a laptop that is not connected to the internet. He's gotten, obviously, as we know, a haircut and lost a lot of weight in the MDC. What's he been like in the courthouse? Yeah, remember, a lot of the early things that had come out about this trial focused on his appearance, this idea here that he was more clean-cut. He had chopped off a lot of his hair, where he had been known for kind of this messy, curly hair that was very, you know, pivotal to kind of who he came and presented himself as to the world. He had reportedly, according to The Wall Street Journal, had bought in suits on discount over at Macy's. Caroline Ellison herself came in to the courtroom at about a quarter to 10 a.m. this morning wearing a blue cap, a T-shirt, sunglasses, and a blazer, so certainly tense, buttoned up. And, you know, he's seeing his friends who he's known, Gary Wong, who testified earlier, he's known him since high school. And so you could imagine that this is a highly personal trial to these people, as well as one of the largest white-collar crime cases in history that he's trying to defend himself against.

The Russian and Turkish flags were lowered to mark the closure of a center set up to monitor a ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh, as Russian peacekeepers ended a multi-year deployment in the strategic South Caucasus region.

Baku

Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire center closes as Russia withdraws

Britain's King Charles will return to public duties next week for the first time since being diagnosed with cancer as he makes good progress following treatment and a period of recuperation, Buckingham Palace said.

London

King Charles to resume public duties after cancer diagnosis

Students blocked access to Paris' prestigious Sciences Po university over the war in Gaza on Friday (April 26), demanding the institution condemn Israel's actions, in a protest that echoed similar demonstrations on U.S. campuses.

Paris

Israel-Gaza War

Pro-Palestinian protesters still occupying Sciences Po campus

The number of people killed in floods in Kenya due to heavier than usual rainfall since the start of the monsoon in March has risen to 70, a government spokesperson said Friday. Kenya and other countries in East Africa, a region highly vulnerable to climate change, have been pounded by heavier than usual rainfall in recent weeks, compounded by the El Nino weather pattern.

Nairobi

Climate Crisis

Kenya flood death toll since March climbs to 70

An Australian journalist has been named as a key figure in Donald Trump's criminal trial. Dylan Howard, the former editor of the National Enquirer in the U.S. accused of buying and burying negative stories as part of a deal to help him become President.

U.S. Presidential Election

The Australian journalist caught up in Trump trial

A surging domestic economy and rising inflation will see the Reserve Bank change its mind and increase interest rates as many as three times this year, analysts have warned.

Council of the City of Sydney

Reserve Bank set to raise interest rates, expert predicts

The Prime Minister has labelled the security guard murdered during the Bondi stabbing attack a 'national hero' during his funeral today. Mourners gathering at the Baitul Huda Mosque in Marsden Park, Sydney to honour Faraz Tahir.

Marsden Park

Mourners farewell Bondi security guard Faraz Tahir

After a crucial hearing, U.S. Supreme Court justices are weighing arguments for and against Donald Trump's claims of presidential immunity from 2020 election interference charges, but a ruling will take time.

Washington

U.S. Supreme Court weighs arguments on Trump immunity case

Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction has been overturned after New York’s highest court ruled the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against him that were not part of the case.

Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction overturned

Palestinians have begun evacuating Rafah as Israel steps up airstrikes. Israel plans to go forward with a ground operation in the southern Gaza city despite warnings from allies that it could cause mass casualties.

Jerusalem

Israel steps up airstrikes on Rafah ahead of ground operation

After weeks of delays, Haiti is due to swear in a presidential transition council. Gang violence has devastated the economy and social services are on the brink of collapse. Gang leaders say talks over Haiti's political future must include them.

Port-au-Prince

Haiti interim transition council to be sworn in

Israeli forces are carrying out "offensive action" across southern Lebanon, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said without specifying whether ground troops had crossed the border. He also claimed that "half of Hezbollah's commanders in southern Lebanon have been eliminated" in months of violence.

Beirut

Israel says forces carrying out 'offensive action' in south Lebanon

In a deal facilitated by Qatar, Russia and Ukraine will exchange nearly 50 displaced children due to Moscow's invasion, announced Maria Lvova-Belova, the Kremlin's children's rights commissioner, in Doha.

Doha

Ukraine Invasion

Russia and Ukraine to exchange dozens of displaced children

Rudy Giuliani, a former lawyer for Donald Trump, is among 18 people charged in Arizona with illegally seeking to claim the state's 2020 electoral votes for the then-U.S. president.

Phoenix

Giuliani indicted in election vote-rigging case

Dozens of whales have died after 160 became beached during a mass stranding event in WA's south-west. Community members turned out this morning to the mouth of Toby Inlet at Geographe Bay near Dunsborough, where dozens of pilot whales were stuck in shallow water.

Geographe

Mass whale stranding in southwest WA

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has completed a two-day trek of the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea, alongside PNG Prime Minister James Marape in commemoration of ANZAC Day

Kokoda

Australian Prime Minister's Kokoda pilgrimage

Five teenagers have appeared in court, after being arrested in connection with the stabbing of the Bishop in the Wakely church stabbing. Counter-terrorism police are continuing searches in south-west Sydney and Goulburn.

Wakeley

Teenagers face court over terrorism offences

U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to sign a law that sets a January 2025 deadline for Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell its U.S. operation. Lawmakers behind the ban have warned of national security risks from the popular social video app.

Biden to sign law that could ban TikTok in U.S.

Morning rush hour in central London turned chaotic Wednesday as five escaped military horses galloped at full speed through busy city streets, injuring at least four people. All five horses were rounded up and given veterinary care.

Runaway horses cause peak-hour chaos in London

The United Nations is calling for an inquiry after bodies were found beneath Gaza's Nasser Hospital, in the city of Khan Younis. The hospital was recently abandoned by Israeli troops who said they’d finished searching it for Hamas fighters.

Sderot

U.N. calls for inquiry after unmarked graves found in Gaza

People living in Athens have seen the sky turn orange. It was caused by clouds of dust from the Sahara desert, which blew in from Northern Africa blanketing much of Greece.

Athens

'Apocalyptic' orange haze descends on Athens

Thousands have lined the streets of Sydney's CBD to honour veterans and those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the annual Anzac Day march.

Thousands of veterans take part in ANZAC Day marches

President Joe Biden has signed a bill into law that provides billions of dollars of new U.S. aid to Ukraine for its war with Russia. The legislation also includes $26 billion for Israel, as well as $1 billion in humanitarian assistance to Gaza. Biden also signed a separate bill tied to the aid package that bans TikTok in the U.S. if its owner fails to divest the video app.

Biden signs Ukraine, Israel aid, TikTok ban package

A North Korean delegation led by a cabinet minister for international trade is visiting Iran, according to state media. The rare public visit signals increased cooperation between the two countries, which are believed to have secret military ties.

Pyongyang

North Korea delegation visits Iran in rare public trip

The German government plans to resume cooperation with the United Nations agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) in Gaza. The announcement comes after a new report concluded that Israel had not provided enough evidence to back up its claims that hundreds of UNRWA staff are military operatives in so-called terrorist groups in Gaza.

Berlin

Germany to resume funding UNRWA Palestinian agency

The United States Justice Department has agreed to pay almost $139 million to victims of sex abuser Larry Nassar, for its bungled investigation into the former USA Gymnastics team doctor. For nearly two decades, Nassar subjected hundreds of people to abuse under the guise of performing medical treatment.

Justice Dept. to pay $139 million to USA Gymnastics abuse victims

The United Nations called for “a clear, transparent and credible investigation” of mass graves uncovered at two major hospitals in war-torn Gaza that were raided by Israeli troops. Credible investigators must have access to the sites, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

U.N. calls for investigation into Gaza mass graves

A bishop whose stabbing was live streamed while delivering a church service wants his video to remain online, supporting X founder Elon Musk's stance. The technology company is currently in a legal fight with Australia’s e-Safety commissioner over the graphic video.

Stabbed Sydney bishop supports Musk stance

Seven juveniles have been arrested and a further five are being interviewed by police, after a series of raids by counterterrorism police in the south-west Sydney suburb of Greenacre. The arrests follow the stabbing a bishop.

Teenagers arrested in ongoing Sydney anti-terror raids

The US Senate has passed a 95 Billion dollar aid package providing aid to Ukraine and Israel, humanitarian relief for Gaza, as well as 8 Billion dollars for security in Taiwan. Part of that package is a provision that could lead to a nationwide ban on TikTok.

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Bankman-Fried Guilty