SBF Legal Team Seeks Court Approval for Anthropic Evidence

On October 10, lawyers representing Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried filed a motion seeking the court’s permission to present evidence supporting favorable investment outcomes, particularly highlighting an investment in the artificial intelligence (AI) startup Anthropic.

This request followed an action by United States prosecutors on October 9, aiming to prevent SBF’s legal team from making arguments related to the potential recovery of FTX customer funds through the Anthropic investment.

In April 2022, Bankman-Fried invested $500 million in the AI startup, predating the FTX exchange’s collapse. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) plans to provide evidence suggesting that this investment was funded with fraudulent proceeds from customer deposits.

However, SBF’s legal representatives argue that the government’s stance misrepresents the relevance of this evidence and have respectfully asked the court to reject the government’s motion. They underscore that the government has repeatedly raised concerns about Alameda’s venture investments during the trial, characterizing them as “risky” and “money-losing.”

“In response, the defense should be permitted to introduce evidence of positive investment outcomes (i.e. Anthropic) of such venture investments…”

Anthropic has recently attracted substantial investments, including $4 billion from the e-commerce giant Amazon and $100 million from the South Korean telecommunications giant SK Telecom.

SBF’s legal team has clarified that they do not object to the court providing an “appropriate limiting instruction” regarding how the evidence related to the Anthropic investment may be utilized.

The criminal trial of the former FTX CEO continues into its second week on October 11. SBF faces seven charges of conspiracy and fraud related to the collapse of FTX, and he has entered a not-guilty plea.

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