Sam Bankman-Fried's fraud trial entered its third day on Thursday, with a longtime friend and former ally, Adam Yedidia, returning to the stand as the prosecution's witness.
On Wednesday, opening arguments from the prosecution and the defense began. The prosecution, which was led by commodities trader Marc-Antoine Julliard, had its first witness, who told the court that Bankman-Fried initially appeared like someone who wanted to 'do good for the industry'. Julyliard, however, was unable to withdraw about $100,000 from FTX when the platform collapsed in November 2022.
On Wednesday, Yedidia became the second witness to testify in the Prosecutors, revealing that he had a longstanding friendship with Bankman-Fried dating back to their student days at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Yedidia testified under an immunity order, which means he cannot be charged based on his testimony as long as he tells the truth.
On Thursday, Yedidia revealed that while they were playing padel tennis at a luxury Bahamian resort, Bankman-Fried admitted that his crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research, might not be able to cover the $8 billion debt.
In late June or July 2022, this conversation took place during a break in the match, when he raised concerns about the substantial amount Alameda Research owed FTX.
The prosecution's witness, Anu Shastri, also revealed that the investigation was still ongoing. While Bankman-Fried had been at the Albany luxury resort, the FTX co-founder resided in a penthouse worth $35 million.
In addition to thesereveals, Yedidia provided insider information about the relationship between Bankman-Fried and Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda and SBF's lover, who became a witness for the prosecution after reaching a plea deal with the government.
When asked why he was testifying under an immunity order, Yededia said, Why did he testify?