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Bankman-Fried's attorneys are keen on interrogating Caroline Ellison regarding her reliance on legal expertise while she was the CEO of Alameda Research and the value of FTX's interest in Anthropic AI.
Ellison formerly headed Alameda, a crypto hedge fund closely associated with Bankman-Fried's now-insolvent FTX cryptocurrency exchange. Ellison was known to have a personal relationship with Bankman-Fried and is the primary witness in the ongoing fraud allegations against him. Recently, she divulged that although she was involved in discussions on FTX's investment strategies, her suggestions were frequently overlooked.
The legal team's intention is to inquire if Ellison was aware of the role played by FTX and Alameda's legal teams, especially concerning tools like the auto-delete function on the messaging application Signal.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has voiced its reservations about allowing Bankman-Fried's defense to introduce discussions about FTX's current investment value. Their concerns were emphasized again this week, focusing especially on Anthropic AI. The DOJ contends this topic isn't relevant to the case's main issue: if Bankman-Fried misused FTX's customer resources for his own advantage. Interestingly, the AI company recently announced multiple fundraising initiatives, sparking optimism about a potential increased recovery for FTX creditors if the company decides to liquidate its interest in the AI enterprise.
Bankman-Fried's attorneys, however, believe that updates related to Anthropic provide vital information regarding FTX's valuation predictions and feel they should be allowed to widen their line of questioning.
As Tuesday's court proceedings concluded, Judge Lewis Kaplan and the attorneys deliberated on whether these topics were suitable for discussion during the trial.
Furthermore, Ellison's own financial involvement in Anthropic was highlighted by an assistant U.S. attorney. This could potentially be a point of contention in the trial.
Several unresolved matters persist, such as the DOJ's proposition to permit a Ukrainian witness to participate virtually in the trial. Judge Kaplan expressed his reluctance to allow repetitious testimonies and hinted at the necessity for alternative solutions.
Assistant U.S. attorney, Thane Rehn, promised to revert with more clarity later in the week.
