Sam Bankman-Fried, the key figure behind the crypto company FTX that has gone bankrupt, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison. FTX was a former partner and sponsor of the Mercedes F1 team.
It was in September 2021 that Mercedes proudly announced a long-term agreement with the crypto company FTX. The FTX logo was not only placed on the Mercedes F1 cars, but also on the racing overalls of the drivers, the team trucks, and FTX could also be seen in the garage and hospitality of the Mercedes F1 team.
However, the so-called ‘long-term cooperation’ came to an abrupt end during the race weekend of the 2022 Brazilian GP, the penultimate race of the season. Suddenly the logos were removed from the Mercedes F1 cars when it turned out that Sam Bankman-Fried had resigned and FTX had filed for bankruptcy. At the end of 2023, it became known that Mercedes and Formula 1 were also involved in the investigation into fraud by Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX. Injured parties argued in court that they were misled partly by the presence of FTX in Formula 1 and on the Mercedes F1 cars.
It is notable that FTX was valued at around $32 billion at one point. However, the crypto company suddenly collapsed and in November last year, CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty of all seven counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
This week, Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced in a Manhattan court to 25 years in prison. As much as 11 billion in assets were also confiscated.