Prosecutors involved in Sam Bankman-Fried’s ongoing trial have asked the judge to prevent the defendant from presenting the current value of FTX’s $500 million investment in Anthropic, an artificial intelligence startup. The government alleges that SBF used stolen funds from FTX customers to invest in Anthropic in April 2022.
In a recent court filing, US attorney Damian Williams has requested Judge Kaplan, who is presiding over SBF’s trial, to exclude any evidence or arguments related to the defendant’s investments.
Prosecutors Argue FTX’s Anthropic Investment Irrelevant to the Case
The government argues that presenting evidence of FTX’s $500 million investment in Anthropic would not be relevant to the case. This evidence could potentially support the defense’s argument that FTX customers and other victims would be compensated, which the court has already ruled as impermissible. The court has cited a previous order in a similar case to support this perspective.
Anthropic, a rival of OpenAI, has recently announced plans to raise additional funds from major investors such as Amazon and Google. Reports suggest that the company is aiming for a valuation between $20 billion and $30 billion, potentially increasing the value of SBF’s investment significantly. This development has led to speculation about improved recovery prospects for FTX customers and other creditors involved in the FTX bankruptcy proceedings.
The prosecution is asking the judge to block the presentation of Anthropic’s investment value in the trial to avoid any potential unfair influence, confusion, or waste of time.
So far in the high-profile trial, there have been few favorable outcomes for the defendant, as the prosecution’s key witness Caroline Ellison has yet to testify.
