Prosecutors in the United States assert that Sam Bankman-Fried’s legal team cannot present the potential for Anthropic’s high valuation to fully compensate FTX investors. In Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial, United States prosecutors have formally requested the court to prohibit his legal team from introducing any arguments related to the potential recovery of FTX customer assets invested in Anthropic. Bankman-Fried injected a staggering $500 million into the artificial intelligence startup in April 2022; nevertheless, the U.S. government is poised to unveil evidence suggesting that this investment in Anthropic was financed using misappropriated funds from FTX customer deposits.
In recent weeks, Anthropic has garnered widespread attention as it seeks fresh capital from investors, drawing interest from industry giants like Amazon and Google, potentially leading to a valuation ranging from $20 billion to $30 billion. U.S. prosecutors underline that recent reports focusing on the potentially lofty valuation of Anthropic could also bolster the worth of Bankman-Fried’s investment, potentially facilitating the recovery of funds for FTX customers and other claimants entangled in the FTX bankruptcy.
As per the letter presented to Judge Lewis Kaplan, legal representatives for both the U.S. government and Bankman-Fried deliberated on various issues that might surface during the cross-examination of witnesses. Bankman-Fried’s legal team intends to present evidence regarding the current valuation of his $500 million investment in Anthropic made in 2022. Prosecutors contend that this evidence is meant to bolster the argument that FTX customers and other aggrieved parties would be fully compensated for their losses—an argument previously deemed “inadmissible”: “Such evidence would, therefore, be entirely irrelevant, presenting a significant risk of unjust prejudice, confusion of matters, misguidance of the jury, unwarranted delays, and a waste of time.”
The government maintains that Bankman-Fried’s indictment primarily revolves around allegations of wire fraud involving FTX customer deposits for investments and other expenditures. Prosecutors argue that any references to potentially profitable investments are ultimately immaterial and unrelated to the charges under the jury’s scrutiny. Furthermore, the government asserts that while it plans to introduce evidence concerning Bankman-Fried’s alleged misappropriation of customer deposits, resulting in substantial losses on FTX’s financial statements, it does not intend to present any evidence concerning the eventual losses suffered by victims once the FTX bankruptcy proceedings conclude. Ana Paula Pereira, a journalist from Cointelegraph, is presently in New York covering the Bankman-Fried trial. The initial week of the trial has primarily focused on establishing how approximately $8 billion in FTX customer funds vanished following the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange.
