• SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci recounted his experience with former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried during the firm’s last days.
• He visited Bahamas to talk face-to-face with Bankman-Fried and stumbled upon a “war room” of FTX executives in the process.
• Bankman-Fried looked “disassociated” and apologized for what happened, claiming that FTX’s shortfall was due to mislabeling.
Scaramucci Recounts Harrowing Final Days of FTX
SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci recounted the time he spent with former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried in the Bahamas during the firm’s harrowing final days, on Thursday during Consensus 2023.Scaramucci served as a mentor and business partner to Bankman-Fried, coordinating the crypto wunderkind’s fundraising trips in North America and the Middle East before FTX’s implosion. FTX also purchased a 30% stake in SkyBridge Capital, deepening the ties between the firms’ founders.
Visit To Bahamas To See Sam Bankman-Fried
But that relationship hit a rough patch in November, when a CoinDesk investigation revealed the now-bankrupt exchange might be on shaky financial footing. Soon after, Scaramucci flew to the Bahamas to talk in person with Bankman-Fried. It was there that he stumbled upon a “war room” of FTX executives, he said.
The War Room
The war room was despondent, and … it was clear to a few people that there was a very small group of people [at FTX] that had done some [bad] things,” Scaramucci said.Financial crimes often happen when a small group of individuals plot among themselves, said Scaramucci, who compared FTX’s alleged fraud to that of infamous Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff. “It’s very hard to commit a crime like this with a large group of people because … there’s always a person of conscience that comes out and says, ‘Hey, I don’t want to do this,” he continued.
Bankman Fried’s Actions
At the center of the war room was Bankman-Fried who looked “disassociated,” Scaramucci said.”He was apologizing to me for what happened,” Scaramucci said “He was claiming that [FTX’s shortfall] was [due to] mislabeling.”
Conclusion
Despite drama during exchange’s final days its collapse has not affected SkyBridge as greatly as some media reports have suggested according to Scaramucci