Attorneys for Sam Bankman-Fried sought to undermine prosecution witness Nishad Singh in cross-examination Monday, pressing the former FTX director on his knowledge of Alameda Research’s use of customer funds.
During the day 10 of SBF’s criminal fraud trial, defense lawyer Mark Cohen grilled Singh on events in mid-2022 when Alameda tapped into FTX customer assets.
Singh admitted to sizeable gaps in memory from June to July as Alameda quietly moved billions in funds from FTX to cover losses. He claimed ignorance of a software bug that artificially inflated Alameda’s liabilities until overhearing FTX developers discuss it.
According to him:
“It was an $8 billion hole,” Singh testified, referencing the impact of the bug on Alameda’s balance sheet.
He added, “I felt betrayed, something I’d put in blood, sweat, and tears for five years, turning out so horrible.”
Cohen aimed to undermine Singh’s credibility after his damning direct testimony against SBF last week. Singh had portrayed Bankman-Fried as aware of Alameda’s ballooning debts that precipitated FTX’s collapse.
But Cohen highlighted fuzzy recollections and seeming obliviousness by Singh to events that allegedly transpired right under his nose as an FTX executive.
Singh is the latest prosecution witness to testify in SBF’s criminal trial, now into its second week in New York federal court. He faces up to 115 years in prison if convicted on all counts.
Although Bankman-Fried still pleads not guilty to all charges against him.
