Cryptocurrency enthusiasts criticise journalists at The New York Times for trying to exonerate FTX founder
Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the bankrupt FTX exchange, received numerous fraud charges during his trial, managed to serve a week in jail in the Bahamas, was extradited to the US and was released from the courtroom on a $250 million bail bond. It is a rather eventful end to a year for Sam. Despite the extent of his violations of the law and the overall damage caused by the activism, some journalists continue to paint Bachmann-Fried as a victim of circumstance. We tell you more about what’s going on.
Note that the activities of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried have indeed ended badly for the platform’s users. The losses of the latter are estimated at several billion dollars, which is unlikely to be recovered in full in the near future.
Despite the former entrepreneur's "merits", some journalists turn a blind eye and try to exonerate him. For example, at the end of November The Wall Street Journal ran a story with the headline "Bankman-Fried's plans to save the world went up in flames". Why journalists bring up some kind of saving the planet when Sam essentially stole his own users' money is unclear.
That said, it is important to remember here that Bachmann-Fried used the money to fund some media outlets. Which means it could in theory be a consequence of such actions by Sam.
The headline of The Wall Street Journal article on Sam Bachmann-Fried
Who is Sam Bachman-Fried really?
The New York Times news outlet is still trying to put Bankman-Fried in a positive light. A day before journalists NYT published another article about the former head of FTX, in which they interviewed residents of the Bahamas, which is just the headquarters of the exchange. According to the journalists, the majority of Bahamians allegedly spoke positively about Sam, and it was described accordingly. Such an approach has caused serious outrage in the cryptocurrency community.
In an article published this week, New York Times journalist Rob Copeland quotes locals who are allegedly mostly positive about the FTX founder.
According to one of them, Sam sort of has a “good heart” and another local said he felt “sorry for Bunkman-Fried”. Another local said there was “no point” in the allegations against Bankman-Fried leading to his arrest.
Note that there is a point to this. Still, Bankman-Fried is facing several serious charges. And even one of them, called fraud by electronic means, carries up to 20 years in prison. Accordingly, the extent of Sam's activity is very large - as is the financial loss to former FTX users.
NYT article on sympathy for Sam Bankman-Fried in the Bahamas
The article states that the positive local reviews of Sam are attributed to his millions of dollars in donations to local charities, churches and government agencies, including the police. The FTX founder’s plans to build a hotel and FTX headquarters here are seen by locals as another positive moment in Bankman-Fried’s biography.
However, the arguments of the US prosecutor's office are crucial to consider here. Its representatives argue that Sam Bankman-Fried, along with other FTX executives managed to transfer billions of dollars of exchange users into the accounts of a trading company, Alameda Research. He then used this money as his own bank, diverting the funds for investments, donations to politicians and property purchases. Consequently, Sam's supposedly good initiatives could also in theory have been funded by FTX users without the latter even realising it.
A crypto-enthusiast under the nickname Cryptonator compared Sam to Pablo Escobar, the notorious Colombian drug lord. He too bribed local authorities with huge donations, which made him revered by ordinary citizens.
Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX
According to Cointelegraph’s sources, in comments to the New York Times’ publication on Twitter, other users began to resent the journalists’ motives. In their opinion, publishing such an article is “just plain embarrassing” given all the damage Bankman-Fried has done to the crypto industry.
Former FTX executive Sam Bunkman-Fried
That said, not all Bahamians are positive about Sam’s persona. For example, a Bahamian citizen and public advocate from New York named Olayemi Olourin posted a video on Twitter condemning the article. Here is one of her quotes.
What journalists will not do to support this white-collar criminal. At the same time they are actively imputing crimes to people of colour. The Bahamas is not a country where gangsterism reigns, get out of here.
Apparently, such publications are now only hurting the media’s reputation. It was a shortsighted decision on the part of the editors of the New York Times to release this article. Sam Bunkman-Fried’s image has been completely destroyed for weeks now, with nothing to remedy the situation.
We believe that there is simply no point in trying to improve Sam Bankman-Friede's reputation today. This is especially true given the current testimony of former Alameda Research executive Caroline Allison. As she stated the previous day, Sam was aware of the illegal use of FTX user funds and also personally approved such transactions. Accordingly, it is simply too late to exonerate him in this context.
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