Sam Bankman-Fried’s Lawyers Want to Block Testimonies from Ukraine

Lawyers for Sam Bankman-Fried are attempting to prevent a Ukrainian customer from testifying in the founder’s trial for a failed cryptocurrency exchange, arguing that their testimony would only evoke the jury’s sympathy and anger.

In a letter submitted on Monday, Bankman-Fried’s legal team stated that the Department of Justice’s request to allow a remote testimony from a customer in Ukraine should be denied.

The lawyers also argued that the proposed testimony from this witness, which involves the hardships and individual circumstances brought about by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, would go against the defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to confront their accusers in court.

The DOJ requested on Saturday for the court to allow the Ukrainian witness to testify remotely due to their unique circumstances, which make international travel for testimony difficult.

The witness, a young male in Ukraine, had lost a significant portion of their life savings entrusted to FTX during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to prosecutors.