Bankman-Fried says 'I mixed funds without knowing it' at DealBook Summit

Sam Bankman-Fried was speaking live at the New York Times DealBook Summit on November 30.

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Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried claimed to have "unknowingly mixed funds" between Alameda and FTX client funds.

Bankman-Fried was speaking at the New York Times' DealBook Summit via videoconference on November 30, during which journalist Andrew Sorkin noted that "there seems to be a real mix of funds that are FTX clients that were not meant to be confused with your separate business."

Sam Bankman-Fried speaking at New Times York Summit DealBook. Source: New York Times

Bankman-Fried denied knowledge of the mixed funds and blamed it on poor oversight.

"I unknowingly mixed funds [...] I was frankly surprised by the size of Alameda's position, which indicates another supervisory failure on my part and the inability to appoint someone to be primarily responsible for it," Bankman-Frit said, adding:

"But I wasn't trying to raise funds."

Bankman-Fried also appeared to deflect blame for Alameda's actions.

"I didn't run Alameda, I didn't know exactly what was going on. I didn't know the size of their position."

The crypto exchange imploded in early November following a liquidity crunch, causing customer withdrawals to stop. He filed for bankruptcy a few days later, on November 11.

It is alleged that much of the liquidity crunch was due to Alameda using customer funds to cover loans that were recalled due to the credit crunch caused by the collapse of LUNA.

This is a developing story and more information will be added as it becomes available.