Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years behind bars

THE former billionaire and mastermind behind the collapse of the FTX crypto exchange has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.

In November 2023, Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty of stealing more than $8 billion in customer funds. Today he heard his fate from Judge Lewis Kaplan who rejected the 32-year-old's plea that customers did not lose their money when FTX was declared bankrupt in 2022.

In response, Bankman-Fried, looking hapless in a standard beige prison t-shirt, apologised to his former FTX colleagues for what had happened. He offered little remorse to his victims, and gave no admission of committing one of the biggest financial crimes in history.

"He knew it was wrong," Judge Kaplan said upon delivering sentence.

"He knew it was criminal. He regrets that he made a very bad bet about the likelihood of getting caught. But he is not going to admit a thing, as is his right."

Bankman-Fried did, however, show a degree of emotion in holding back tears when his attorney, Michael Mukasey, portrayed his client in a summary as an "awkward math nerd" who had tried his best to make things right in the wake of the exchange's derailment.

"Sam Bankman-Fried doesn't make decisions with malice in his heart," Mukasey sighed.

"He makes decisions with math in his head."

Further emotional scenes played out on the courtroom steps as Bankman-Fried's parents - Standford University professors Barbara Fried and Joseph Bankman - addressed reporters.

"We are heartbroken and will continue to fight for our son," they said.

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