FTX exploiter moves $36.8M in Ether as Sam Bankman-Fried trial starts

While the exploiter initially held 175,496 ETH ($294 million), the current balance in their portfolio has come down to $196.014 million after a series of transfers.

The crypto wallet address linked to the FTX exploiter moved roughly $36.8 million worth of Ether (ETH) in the last 24 hours amid the ongoing court trials of the defunct crypto exchange’s ex-CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF).

Accounts linked to FTX and FTX U.S. were drained off $600 million on Nov. 11, 2022, hours after the crypto exchange had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. At the time, FTX general counsel Ryne Miller informed traders about the hack caused by malware:

“FTX has been hacked. Chat is open. Please don’t go to the FTX site, as it might download Trojans. Note that some funds were retrieved.”

After nearly 10 months of silence, the FTX exploiter began siphoning out the stolen funds, starting with a transfer of 10,250 ETH worth $17.1 million via four addresses between September 30 and October 1, confirms data from Spot On Chain.

The exploiter initially held 175,496 ETH ($294 million). However, the current balance in their portfolio has come down to $196.014 million, as shown below.

Since Sept. 30, a total of 67,500 ETH has been transferred out of 5 out of the 15 wallet addresses linked to the FTX exploiter.

Out of the lot, 64,948 ETH ($108 million) was transferred through Thorchain router and 52 ETH (worth $84,000) to Railgun contract. The remaining 2,500 ETH ($4.19 million) was swapped for Bitcoin (tBTC).

Related: September becomes the biggest month for crypto exploits in 2023: CertiK

The trial of SBF in connection with the collapse of FTX began on Oct. 3. The entrepreneur has pleaded not guilty to all seven counts of fraud and money laundering charges.

We decided to illustrate the lead-up to @SBF_FTX's trial. Here’s Bankman-Fried's life in the slammer. From mirror monologues to peanut butter banquets, the fall is real. pic.twitter.com/v73IA6d5l2

— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) October 3, 2023

On the second day of the trial, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and SBF’s defense team provided their statements in front of the jury. While the DOJ continues to focus its arguments on SBF’s alleged role in misleading investors on the platform, the defense argued about Bankman-Fried being a young entrepreneur who made business decisions that “didn’t work out.”

Read more to stay updated on the latest developments around the SBF-FTX court trials.

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