FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried On Trial: The Big Three Witnesses Expected To Testify Against Him

Updated: 03 October 2023

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Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the failed crypto exchange FTX, goes on trial today — almost a year after the exchange filed for bankruptcy.

The trial is scheduled to last about six weeks, and will see some of his former colleagues and friends testify against him. They include ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison, Nishad Singh, and Gary Wang,

Caroline Ellison, Bankman-Fried’s Former Girlfriend

As Sam Bankman-Fried’s former friend, colleague, and someone who was in a personal relationship with him, Caroline Ellison is the most highly-anticipated witness in this case.

She was formerly the head of Alameda, FTX’s crypto hedge fund. Because of her relationship with Bankman-Fried, she is believed to be one of the few insiders who know the full story of what happened behind closed doors at FTX.

Following the arrests of Bankman-Fried and other executives, she admitted to misleading lenders and pleaded guilty to fraud charges. She signed a plea deal and agreed to testify against her former boyfriend.

Nishad Singh

Nishad Singh was also an early hire at Alameda, and he knew Bankman-Fried from his high school days when he was a close friend of his brother.

At Alameda, he served as a director of engineering. He even lived with Bankman-Fried in his 10-person luxury penthouse in the Bahamas. Later, he switched to a new role as head of engineering at FTX.

CoinDesk notes that Singh was reportedly one of three holders of keys to FTX’s so-called matching engine, the system that processed buy and sell orders. That gave him the ability to move funds at will, which makes his testimony highly anticipated. Singh also pleaded guilty to the charges in February of this year.

Gary Wang, Bankman-Fried’s Right-Hand Man

As a co-founder of both Alameda Research and FTX, Gary Wang was Bankman-Fried’s right-hand man. He was a CTO at both companies and is considered to be a critical player at FTX.

Wang and Bankman-Fried have known each other for a long time, as they both attended a math camp in high school, according to CoinDesk.

Later, they attended MIT, where they also shared a dorm. Wang pleaded guilty soon after his arrest in December 2022.

Apart from the mentioned three, there will be several defense witnesses, including a corporate consultant, Thomas Bishop, a data analytics and forensics expert, Brian Kim, a financial consultant, Joseph Pimbley, and a professor of finance and technology at the University of Michigan, Andrew Di Wu.