Former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison has made explosive allegations during her testimony in Sam Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial on Wednesday. Ellison, Bankman-Fried’s ex-girlfriend, detailed how disgraced crypto mogul, Bankman-Fried, and his team at FTX used accounts registered to Thai prostitutes in a bid to recover $1 billion worth of funds frozen by the Chinese government after attempts at bribes failed.
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Bribes and Prostitutes in the SBF Scandal
According to Ellison, Alameda Research held about $1 billion in assets across two China-based cryptocurrency exchanges in early 2021. Chinese regulators froze the assets as part of a money laundering investigation into an individual who had traded with Alameda.
FTX, the collapsed crypto exchange, initially hired a lawyer in China to negotiate with government officials and attempt to unfreeze the accounts. However, months of efforts were fruitless, leading Bankman-Fried and his team to resort to other tactics. Ellison testified that one such proposal came from Alameda employee David Ma, which involved offering bribes to key government officials. Another method after attempts at bribes failed involved hiring Thai prostitutes. The accounts of these prostitutes would be used to arrange trades with Alameda Research. This way, they would be transferring value away from Alameda’s accounts and to the sex workers.
The identities of the Thai prostitutes were allegedly found by Sam Trabucco, former co-CEO of Alameda. These women were used in an elaborate scheme to reclaim the frozen funds from Alameda Research.
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Caroline’s Allegations Don’t Look Good for SBF
Ellison’s shocking allegations come in the midst of a high-profile criminal trial, and if proven true, they could significantly damage Bankman-Fried’s reputation and standing in the crypto industry. These claims also highlight the risks and dangers present in the largely unregulated world of cryptocurrency, as well as the lengths to which some industry participants will go to protect their funds.
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