The former crypto-currency tycoon Sam Bankman-Fried has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in what's been described as one of the largest financial frauds in history. The 32-year-old was found guilty of defrauding customers out of billions of dollars as the founder of the FTX crypto exchange.

New York

Sam Bankman-Fried, once celebrated as a cryptocurrency mogul, has been sentenced to 25 years of imprisonment. This verdict arrives after a significant legal scrutinization of his activities as the founder of the FTX crypto exchange. Bankman-Fried faced accusations of defrauding his customers, causing them to lose billions of dollars in what has been characterized as one of history's most considerable financial fraud episodes.

The legal proceedings against the 32-year-old entrepreneur concluded with his conviction for a massive financial deception impacting numerous stakeholders within the cryptocurrency domain. This sentence underscores the severity of the fraudulent activities associated with Bankman-Fried and serves as a stark reminder of the potential risks inherent in the cryptocurrency market. His case is particularly noteworthy given the relatively new and highly volatile nature of cryptocurrency exchanges.



Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison

Wearing a prison uniform and facing the possibility he could spend the rest of his life behind bars, Sam Bankman-Freed acknowledged he'd made a series of bad decisions and apologized for letting his colleagues down. The 32-year-old former billionaire better known by his initials, SBF, started his cryptocurrency exchange FTX with college friends and appeared in ads with celebrities promoting cryptocurrencies as safe. FTX is the safest and easiest way to buy and sell crypto. It's the best way to get in the game. But he went on to steal $8 billion from FTX to cover losses at his hedge fund, leading to the exchange's collapse in 2022 and his own fall from grace. Judge Lewis Kaplan sentenced him to 25 years, saying he knew it was wrong. He knew it was criminal. He regrets he made a very bad bet about the likelihood of getting caught, but he is not going to admit a thing, as is his right. Prosecutors had called for an even longer sentence, reading from the more than 200 letters of former FTX customers all around the world who'd lost money, in some cases their life savings. Ironically, his conviction and the collapse of FTX pointed out the need for some kind of framework. Because, you know, if this was a regulated entity, there would be audited financials. There would be transparency to government regulators. There would be regular examinations by government regulators and exam staff that would have uncovered the kinds of issues and the kinds of misappropriation that Bankman Freed was convicted of. Bankman Freed's mother and father attended the proceedings. They said nothing inside or outside the court. But in a letter to the judge, pleaded for leniency based on their son's autism, which his mother feared would make him vulnerable to abuse. I genuinely fear for Sam's life in the typical prison environment, Barbara Freed wrote. In settling on a 25-year sentence, the judge expressed concern that Sam Bankman Freed could commit more crimes if not faced with a substantial punishment for his actions. But he also seemed to acknowledge the concerns of his family in recommending that he be held in a prison close to them in California. Kristen Salumi, Al Jazeera, New York.

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