Did Accounting Firms Refuse to Audit Alameda's Books?

Caroline Ellison, who performs a vital position within the
case towards FTX’s Founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), confronted intense
cross-examination by the protection as she testified towards her former boss. The
trial highlighted advanced occasions that led to the collapse of FTX and
Alameda Analysis.

Ellison, a key witness and SBF’s former girlfriend, offered an in depth account of her early days at Alameda Analysis,
highlighting the trade’s inside accounting practices. One notable level in
her testimony, as reported by Coindesk, was Alameda’s battle with
accountants. From 2021 to 2022, the hedge fund allegedly engaged with a number of
accounting corporations, solely to find that they had been unable or unwilling to audit
the corporate’s books.

These findings emerged throughout Ellison’s
questioning by the protection lawyer Mark Cohen. Initially, the duty for
making ready Alameda’s stability sheets rested with FTX’s former Digital Markets CEO, Ryan Salame. Nevertheless, in some unspecified time in the future, Ellison took cost of this activity.

This cross-examination additionally delved into Ellison’s
early days at Alameda Analysis, the place she acknowledged worker disputes earlier than
becoming a member of in 2018. Whereas the precise particulars of those disputes weren’t clear
throughout the trial, it was clear that they had been a major a part of Alameda’s
operations.

Hold Studying

Moreover, Ellison’s ambition grew to become a focal
level of dialogue throughout her testimony. Whereas she initially seen herself as
missing ambition in her profession, her time at Alameda noticed a shift in her outlook.
She recounted how SBF’s encouragement had spurred her to turn out to be
extra bold throughout her tenure on the firm.

Caroline Ellison says she wasn’t an bold individual till she met Sam Bankman-Fried https://t.co/goJUqSSuNd

— CNBC (@CNBC) October 12, 2023

Throughout her cross-examination, Ellison
encountered intense questioning from Mark Cohen, SBF’s lawyer, CNBC
reported. Cohen’s persistent interruptions and requests for sidebar conferences throughout the listening to drew the eye of Decide Lewis Kaplan. All through her testimony, Ellison
maintained a demeanor that always averted eye contact with the defendant, a development
that continued from the earlier days of the trial.

Protection Cross-Examines Ellison

Ellison’s testimony additionally delved into the working
dynamics at Alameda, notably her collaboration with Sam Trabucco, who
served because the Co-CEO till August 2022. Ellison and Trabucco took on the
day-to-day duties within the agency as early as 2020. By 2021,
SBF’s involvement at Alameda had notably lowered, and Ellison took on
extra of the corporate’s duties.

As Ellison’s testimony continued, Cohen cross-examined
the interior account that FTX used to mark buyer funds deposited into Alameda
Analysis’s financial institution accounts, known as fiat@ftx.com, Reuters reported. SBF
had cited this inside labeling problem as a reason for the shortfall of funds
earlier than his arrest.

Ellison, a 28-year-old Stanford College graduate,
is one in all three former members of SBF’s inside circle who’ve admitted guilt to fraud expenses and agreed to cooperate with the Manhattan U.S. Legal professional’s
workplace. Earlier within the trial, Gary Wang, FTX’s former expertise chief,
testified concerning SBF’s deceptive tweets concerning the standing of the crypto trade when there was a surge in demand for withdrawals.