Former head of bankrupt FTX crypto exchange has been sentenced to 25 years in prison, with  confiscation of $11 billion

Sam Bankman-Fried, the co-founder and former head of the FTX crypto exchange, was sentenced to 25 years in prison with the confiscation of assets worth more than $11 billion. He pleaded guilty to seven criminal charges, including fraud and embezzlement.

At the court session held on March 28, it was found that due to Bankman-Fried's actions, FTX customers lost $8 billion, and the damage to investors and creditors was estimated at $1.7 billion and $1.3 billion, respectively. Three people committed suicide as a result.

According to Judge Lewis Kaplan, Bankman-Fried committed perjury at least three times. Despite this, the judge did not side with the prosecution, which requested a 40-year sentence, or the defense, which, citing Bankman-Fried's mental health problems, insisted that he be imprisoned for 6.5 years.

Summarizing the trial, the judge noted that Bankman-Fried was well aware that the clients' funds did not belong to him, that he was doing wrong and putting the stock exchange in a very risky position. The defendant himself said that he hoped to avoid justice and remain unpunished.

The US Probation Service has insisted that he be sentenced to 100 years in prison, which, according to Bankman-Fried's lawyers, would be no less "grotesque" than the 150 years of 71-year-old Bernie Madoff, the mastermind of the fraud scheme.

Bankman-Fried was one of the founders of the FTX crypto exchange launched in 2019, which quickly became one of the largest in the world. During the trial, his co-conspirators confirmed that they had nipulated the numbers to make the stock market appear safer than it actually was.