• SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci recounted his experience of visiting FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried in the Bahamas during the firm’s tumultuous last days.
• Upon arriving, Scaramucci found himself in a “war room” of FTX executives, where Bankman-Fried appeared “disassociated.”
• During his visit, Scaramucci compared FTX’s alleged fraud to that of infamous Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff and learned that Bankman-Fried believed the shortfall was due to mislabeling.
Scaramucci Recounts Harrowing Final Days of FTX, Visit to Bahamas
SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci recounted his time spent with former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried in the Bahamas during the firm’s harrowing final days on Thursday at Consensus 2023. When he arrived there, he found himself in a “war room” of FTX executives and noted that Bankman-Fried looked “disassociated.”
FTX Alleged Fraud Compared to Bernie Madoff
During his visit, Scaramucci compared FTX’s alleged fraud to that of infamous Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff and concluded that financial crimes often happen when a small group of individuals plot among themselves. He also learned from Bankman-Fried that he believed the exchange’s shortfall was due to mislabeling.
Scarmaucci: Relationship With Bankmann-Fried Not Affected By Collapse
Despite the drama during the exchange’s final days, its collapse has not affected SkyBridge as greatly as some media reports have suggested according to Scaramucci. He clarified that SkyBridge still held a 30% stake in FTX at the time and noted that it is not yet clear whether any money will be recovered from those investments.
Bankmann-Fried Facing Financial & Legal Consequences
Since then, Bankman-Fried has faced several financial and legal consequences for his role with FTX including an ongoing investigation by U.S regulators into potential securities law violations connected to trades on FTX as well as other exchanges related to him personally or through companies associated with him such as Alameda Research Limited and OSL Digital Securities LLC.
Scarmaucci: Small Group Of People May Be Responsible For Crime
Furthermore, Scarmaucci believes a small group of people may have committed this crime since it is difficult for one person alone to commit such a large scale fraud without someone raising questions about it along the way. This could explain why Bankmann-Fried appeared so disassociated during their conversation – he may have felt responsible for what happened but ultimately unable to stop it once it started spiraling out of control.