During a heated Friday television interview, FTX investor and former paid publicist Kevin O’Leary declined to denounce Sam Bankman-Fried or label the company’s collapse as fraud.
O’Leary, one of the sharks on the popular television show “Shark Tank,” delivered a toothless response when asked to identify the culprit.
“I don’t have all the details,” he told the “Squawk Box” hosts on CNBC.
Bankman-Fried faces up to 115 years in prison on eight federal charges for his alleged crypto scam and has been compared to Bernie Madoff, the late mastermind of the Ponzi scheme.
According to prosecutors, Bankman-Fried committed “one of the largest financial scams in U.S. history.” He is incarcerated in a Bahamian jail while he fights extradition.
However, O’Leary is not prepared to accuse his erstwhile donor.
“We are in America. The court system provides the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty, claimed the “Mr. Wonderful”-nicknamed television celebrity.
Andrew Ross Sorkin of CNBC asked O’Leary directly if he believed FTX to be fraudulent.
“Kevin, you are an actor in this story, and you had a front-row seat to the conclusion of Bankman-Fried,” remarked Sorkin. “What do you believe occurred? Do you believe this to be a fraud?”
“I lack the relevant facts. John Ray, [CEO of FTX], does not have them yet. “He will obtain them,” O’Leary responded. “I am going over my files. I am willing to fund a forensic audit of our financial records.”
“Many negative allegations have been made here, and it’s likely that many of them will be genuine,” he added.
Kevin O’Leary stated that he lost every penny he had invested in FTX.
CNBC
Contributor to CNBC O’Leary has revealed taking $15 million to serve as brand ambassador for FTX. In addition, he possessed a stock stake worth more than $1 million. O’Leary stated that he had lost all of his profits from FTX since the company filed for bankruptcy.
This Monday, O’Leary was summoned to appear before the Senate Banking Committee regarding the collapse of FTX.
O’Leary was one of numerous celebrities, including NFL legend Tom Brady and comedian Larry David, listed as defendants in a class-action lawsuit filed by disgruntled FTX investors. They were heavily criticized for promoting FTX to the public ahead to its collapse.
“The stockholders, of which I am one, should not receive anything, in my opinion. We’re venture capitalists, we’re men, we lost money, and we get it “says @kevinolearytv. “I do not want anything returned until the individuals who had money in their accounts receive it.” pic.twitter.com/B5HIcsEHtp
— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) on the 16th of December, 2022
At one point in the conversation, the CNBC hosts mentioned that before to joining FTX, O’Leary was an ardent critic of cryptocurrencies. Despite his public statements, O’Leary stated he began investing in bitcoin prior to his appointment as FTX’s spokesperson in 2018.
However, Sorkin observed that O’Leary had referred to bitcoin as “trash” in 2019.
O’Leary responded, “Then I am incorrect.” “The point is that I was not a paid spokesperson until a very long time ago. Long before.”
When asked about current efforts to compensate those affected by FTX’s insolvency, O’Leary stated that the platform’s customers should be repaid first to investors.
“The stockholders, of which I am one, should receive nothing, in my opinion. We’re venture capitalists, we’re men, we’ve lost money, and we get it,” O’Leary added. “I do not want anything returned until the individuals who had money in their accounts receive it.”
»Kevin O’Leary, who represents FTX, denies that SBF was a fraud: I do not have all the information«