FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) has been sentenced to 25 years in prison, as confirmed by independent journalist Inner City Press in court. SBF made his final statement in court, expressing remorse and apologizing to his FTX colleagues for abandoning them. He acknowledged the disappointment they felt and expressed regret for his actions throughout the ordeal. SBF mentioned Natalie, the former FTX PR head, who single-handedly took on the work of ten people. He also mentioned Gary, the technical director, who created many industry standards. SBF highlighted Alameda, mentioning Nishad Singh, the former engineering director, and Caroline, the Alameda CEO, who sought his advice on employee evaluations. SBF admitted to making a series of mistakes that led to the crisis but emphasized that neither Alameda nor FTX had gone bankrupt. However, Alameda suffered losses, and FTX had to liquidate assets to cope with the outflow of funds. SBF confessed to causing a liquidity crisis and acknowledged the subsequent hacker attack on FTX. He accepted responsibility as the CEO and stated that he could not influence his sentence. SBF expressed hope for the clients and investors to be compensated and wished for others to succeed where he had failed.
Before being sentenced to 25 years, final words spoken by SBF court: Apologies to FTX colleagues.