TechFlow reports, on October 11, according to CoinDesk, Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research, testified in court that FTX founder SBF had directed her to commit crimes. Alameda took billions of dollars from FTX customers and used the funds for its own investments and to repay lenders. Ellison also addressed Alameda's borrowing of customer funds from FTX. She stated that SBF instructed her to "use FTX funds but keep the money within FTX" to meet customer withdrawal demands. A significant portion of these funds was loaned to members of SBF's inner circle, while other portions were used for "investments and political donations." Even after being appointed CEO of Alameda Research, Ellison reported directly to SBF and ultimately followed his directives. SBF harbored ambitions of becoming President of the United States, was "very interested" in politics, and spoke about using his wealth to exert political influence.
Ellison also testified that FTX and Alameda were initially operated by the same team. She explained that in FTX's early days, cryptocurrency exchanges struggled to obtain bank accounts, so Alameda received funds from FTX customers into its own bank accounts. This arrangement continued until 2022, when FTX customer funds were moved into separate bank accounts under FTX. Prior to the collapse of FTX and Alameda, both SBF and Ellison publicly claimed that the two companies were entirely independent and that Alameda held no special privileges over FTX.
In addition, Ellison told the judge in court that her annual salary reached $200,000 and that she received a $20 million bonus in 2021. When asked by the judge whether she held equity in Alameda, Ellison responded that she did not, but she owned 0.5% equity in FTX.
