Nishad Singh, previously the Head of Engineering at FTX, disclosed that he became aware of a significant financial discrepancy within FTX's operations in September 2022, which was two months prior to the exchange declaring bankruptcy. Despite recognizing that approximately $8 billion were missing from Sam Bankman-Fried's company, Singh approved transactions, understanding that they were likely sourced from user deposits. He shared these details during a court session on Monday.
Singh described the financial gap as immense and learned through conversations with Bankman-Fried that the funds had been utilized for various ventures by Alameda Research, Bankman-Fried's affiliated trading firm. These ventures included political contributions, real estate acquisitions, and other expenses.
As a crucial witness in the government's case against Bankman-Fried for multiple charges of fraud and conspiracy, Singh began his testimony at the start of the third week of the criminal trial. Similar to former executives Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang, who testified in the previous two weeks, Singh had already pleaded guilty to charges related to FTX's operations and ultimate collapse.
Earlier on Monday, Tareq Morad, a former FTX customer, revealed that he became aware of FTX through news headlines and his involvement in lobbying Congress.