In a candid panel discussion back in January this year, Anthony Scaramucci criticized Sam Bankman-Fried, whom he had considered a close friend, stating that Bankman-Fried’s actions had damaged his reputation.
Sam Bankman-Fried, currently facing eight fraud charges related to his company FTX, was on the receiving end of Scaramucci’s strong words, with the financier going as far as to say that the ‘ninth circle of hell’ would be an apt place for him.
Friends To Foe
Scaramucci expressed his disappointment, describing the feeling of profound betrayal. He said during the recent World Economic Forum in Davos that he and Bankman-Fried were close and that Scaramucci considered Bankman-Fried a friend.
Fast forward nine months, the sentiments of Scaramucci have taken a dramatic turn, and he now foresees a significant reckoning as the disgraced FTX founder faces his day in court for a criminal trial.
Scaramucci warned in an interview yesterday:
“He’s gonna get skinned alive; there’s no way to escape.”
Scaramucci said that testifying would be “a very bad move” for Bankman-Fried.
“He’s gonna get nailed here going on the stand.”
“He thinks he’s going to outfox the prosecutors, but they’re very, very well experienced with this stuff,” Scaramucci, known for his brief tenure as the White House Director of Communications under former President Donald Trump, added.
Scaramucci confessed to having been swayed by Bankman-Fried’s affable, tech-savvy facade and his extravagant promises of charitable endeavors. He now deeply laments the day he introduced SBF to world leaders and hailed him as the Mark Zuckerberg of the cryptocurrency world, a decision that haunts him with regret.
Scaramucci: Prosecutors To Take Down Sam Bankman-Fried Defense
The SkyBridge Capital founder confidently asserts that government prosecutors will easily dismantle Sam Bankman-Fried’s defense when he testifies in his criminal trial. Scaramucci holds a strong conviction that SBF will be unable to withstand the rigorous examination of the prosecution.
SkyBridge Capital’s founder argued that SBF’s expected sentence might be greatly increased as federal prosecutors would carefully investigate his lies, inconsistencies, and attempts to rewrite history.
They Go A Long WayIn the days leading up to FTX’s bankruptcy filing on November 11, 2022—following a bank run on its FTT token—Bankman-Fried issued bailout proposals to a number of crypto firms.
Introduced by a mutual friend, Scaramucci and Sam Bankman-Fried, both drawn to cryptocurrency, began their business partnership in October 2021.
Within a year, FTX Ventures acquired a 30% stake in Scaramucci’s SkyBridge Capital for approximately $45 million, just preceding FTX’s collapse two months later.
Currently, Scaramucci is endeavoring to repurchase this position from FTX, which has since declared bankruptcy.
Featured image from Sky News