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In the third week of the trial, lawyer SBF pointed out loopholes in the testimony of former FTX executive Nishad Singh.

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In the third week of SBF's trial, SBF's lawyer did not cause too much damage during the questioning of former FTX engineering director Nishad Singh, but he did point out some loopholes.

Original Title: "SBF defence struggles again, yet scores some points against Nishad Singh"

Original Author: Aleks Gilbert

Original Translation: Peisen, BlockBeats

The trial of SBF has entered its third week, and the witness for this trial is former FTX executive Nishad Singh. Previously, FTX co-founder Gary Wang and Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison attended the first and third trials respectively. Aleks Gilbert, a DeFi reporter for DL News in New York, reported on the latest developments in the SBF trial, which BlockBeats has translated as follows:

During Tuesday's cross-examination, Sam Bankman-Fried's defense team questioned the government's final key witness, former FTX executive Nishad Singh, and achieved varying degrees of success in the questioning results. Yesterday, Nishad Singh testified that he had clashed with Bankman-Fried several times over his company's luxury spending.

Similar to the cross-examination of Bankman-Fried's other confidant last week, defense lawyer Mark Cohen switched back and forth between different topics, but quickly gave up after questioning, which tested the patience of the famous irritable judge Lewis Kaplan.

Kaplan reprimanded Singh multiple times for Cohen repeatedly asking him the same question, clearly unsatisfied with his answer.

However, Cohen still managed to achieve some results, especially in a conversation during Singh's cross-examination towards the end, which weakened Singh's image of portraying himself as a positive person. After learning about the fraudulent behavior at FTX, Singh attempted to persuade Bankman-Fried to reform.

Finally, the prosecutor stated that they expect to conclude the charges against Bankman-Fried next week. Meanwhile, the defense lawyer has not yet decided whether to file a lawsuit or whether to call Bankman-Fried himself as a witness, which would be a huge gamble. Cohen said on Tuesday afternoon that if they do file a case, it will not take more than a week and a half.

Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to all seven charges, including fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering. If he is convicted of all seven charges, he could face life imprisonment. Singh has pleaded guilty to six charges and faces a maximum sentence of 75 years in prison, but is currently cooperating with prosecutors in hopes of receiving a more lenient sentence.

Singh's Testimony on Monday

On Monday, Singh reviewed his turbulent time at FTX.

Singh is a software engineer trained at Berkeley who eventually became the head of engineering at FTX and became a billionaire through his stake in the company, ranking only behind Chief Technology Officer Gary Wang and boss Bankman-Fried.

Singh said that he had argued with Bankman-Fried several times about his spending as the head of FTX. Singh stated that through FTX and its sister company Alameda Research, Bankman-Fried spends money freely, investing in startups, sponsoring trades, and luxury real estate.

In September 2022, Singh learned that Alameda owed FTX 13 billion US dollars. If users collectively withdraw funds, FTX will be unable to pay.

Singh said during Monday's trial, "I feel shocked and panicked."

"All of this is possible," Singh added, because years ago he was instructed to write a line of code that would allow Alameda to borrow almost unrestrictedly from FTX. Bankman-Fried's remedy plan includes raising billions of dollars from external investors and launching new revenue-generating products, Singh said. Nevertheless, Bankman-Fried's company continues to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in other companies, including a venture capital firm reportedly run by his ex-girlfriend.

Interrogation

Singh portrayed Bankman-Fried as a founder without principles and reckless spending habits, while Cohen attempted to dismantle this image during Tuesday's trial.

During the interrogation, Singh said that sponsorship deals can help FTX's business growth and some sponsorships make sense. Singh also mentioned that FTX has hired marketing experts to provide advice to Bankman-Fried and not all of the company's venture capital investments are bad. He himself had considered investing in Anthropic, an AI company that FTX invested $500 million in and whose valuation has significantly increased.

As the cross-examination was coming to an end, Cohen successfully uncovered a vulnerability in Singh's portrayal of himself as a business partner filled with guilt.

In October 2022, one month after he first discovered fraudulent behavior at FTX, Singh purchased a $4 million property on Orcas Island in Washington state. Cohen noted in reviewing Singh's interview records with prosecutors that Singh initially said he did not feel guilty about buying the house, but changed his tune a few weeks later.

Singh admitted in his testimony on Tuesday that buying this house was "serious, unnecessary, and selfish".

However, at a critical moment, Cohen's questioning went awry. After misstating Singh's testimony about financial documents, Cohen quickly changed the subject. Singh stated that in 2021, he was asked by Bankman-Fried to modify these documents. In addition, Cohen repeatedly asked Singh if he would be satisfied if Alameda's loans were "offset by sufficient assets," but gave up after Singh repeatedly denied it.

Cohen's persistence made Kaplan feel annoyed. The judge repeatedly told Cohen that Singh had already answered his questions and asked him to continue questioning.

In the morning, the judge had a heated exchange with Cohen. "I am setting the questions," Cohen told Kaplan when the prosecutor challenged his questioning, sounding frustrated. "This is cross-examination." Kaplan stared at the defense lawyer and, after a tense pause, said, "Mr. Cohen, I understand what has happened in this courtroom."