Ari Redbord, the world head of policy and government affairs at TRM Labs, is the global head of policy and government affairs at TRM Labs. Exactly nine months and 20 days after Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas, the founder and former CEO of FTX will stand trial this week on charges related to his involvement in defrauding customers of the exchange.
The case against Bankman-Fried, known as SBF, has been escalating at Usain Bolt-esque speed, with a single extradition, multiple cooperating witnesses, and a mountain of electronic evidence.
For cases of this size and size, it may take years to go to trial. In addition, a jury must be selected before both sides make their opening statements. The process, known as voir dire, begins tomorrow.
voir dire is the process by which potential jurors from the community are questioned by either the judge or the lawyers to determine their suitability for jury service.
The process is designed to allow both sides and the court to identify jurors who are impartial and unbiased. The judge will ask questions - including those of government and defence lawyers - of prospective jurors during the process.
Some questions will be personal in nature, while others will be more substantive to determine whether or not a juror has a connection to the parties in the case or holds a bias for or against the defendant.
After the serious nature of the case, lawyers on both sides can each use ten peremptory challenges to remove jurors from the case.
While the questions for the most part are standard jury selection fare, voir dire will be the first time attorneys for both sides have an opportunity to evaluate the men and women who will decide the case.
It also offers an opportunity for government and defence counsel to subtly Preview their respective cases through their questions.
The seasoned prosecutors and defence lawyers will not just be listening for answers but also evaluate juror body language and other behavioral manifestations of bias.
The first thing the judge will do in voir dire is Preview the charges to the courtroom filled with prospective jurors.
The judge will argue that the indictment - which is not evidence - alleges that SBF and his co-conspirators defrauded FTX customers and investors and conspired to launder the proceeds of the fraud.
The court will explain that SBF has seven charges including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, securities fraud, and commodities fraud on FTX customers and investors and Alameda lenders.
The indictment also notes that SBF's activities included attempting to hide the proceeds of the fraud.
Of these charges, only two - wire fraud on FTX customers and Alameda lenders - are substantial, meaning prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that SBF himself actively engaged in the criminal activity.
The remaining five charges are 'conspiracy' charges, meaning the government must prove that SBF planned to commit the crime with at least one other person.
The government's proposed jury questions call for the court to explain to the jury that 'there is no need to prove that the crime or crimes... actually were committed', with conspiracy charges, unlike the substantive charges.
This is an important distinction, and the judge will reiterate this point in his jury instructions at the end of the trial.
While this all sounds very complicated, prosecutors will likely attempt to simplify things by presenting evidence that SBF and his co-conspirators intended to commit a massive fraud on customers and investors.
If the government proves that the fraud, it is likely to meet their burden on most or all counts.
SBF's lawyers will argue that although SBF was sloppy and incompetent, he did not have the criminal intent to defraud customers and investors.
Defense counsel will also argue that SBF took various actions 'on advice of counsel,' which could potentially obviate criminal intent.
And this is all expected on just one day, despite a significant uptick in the market.
Over the next few weeks - don't make plans for November - we will see opening statements, hear from myriad witnesses, and be presented with millions of pages of evidence, recordings, and testimony from SBF's inner circle.
The case has gone on at unprecedented speed, just nine months and 20 days from arrest and about 11 months from the collapse of FTX. We will see if the trial proceeds as quickly as possible next month, he said.