Jury selection began on Tuesday in the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced cryptocurrency entrepreneur who has been accused of stealing billions of dollars from FTX exchange customers.
Federal prosecutors have charged Mr Bankman-Fried with seven counts of fraud and conspiracy. He is accused of stealing from FTX customers to prop up his Alameda Research hedge fund, buy property and donate millions to US politicians. He has pleaded not guilty.
Prospective jurors began entering the Manhattan federal courthouse on Tuesday morning, where 12 will ultimately be chosen to be seated during the trial.
"The object is to select a jury of individuals who, no matter what they may know or not know about these parties or about this case, are willing and able to decide this case in a manner that's fair and impartial to both sides based solely on the evidence," US District Judge Lewis Kaplan told jurors.
The trial is expected to last six weeks and will include testimony from three former close associates of Mr Bankman-Fried who have already pleaded guilty to fraud.
FTX was a digital platform for people to exchange cryptocurrencies and made money by collecting fees on trades.
At its height, it was worth more than $32 billion. It won naming rights for the stadium of the NBA team Miami Heat and received numerous celebrity endorsements, from Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary to NFL star Tom Brady.
Mr Bankman-Fried also donated significant amounts to Democratic and Republican fund-raising committees.
Records from the Federal Elections Commission show his Alameda Research fund donated millions of dollars to a political action committee backing then-candidate Joe Biden in 2010. Others to have received donations from Mr Bankman-Fried included US senators Kirsten Gillibrand, Susan Collins, Cory Booker and Lisa Murkowski.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and others who received donations either returned the funds or gave them to charity.
Mr Bankman-Fried's empire collapsed last year after a report alleged unusually close ties between FTX and Alameda Research, triggering a rush of customer withdrawals.
FTX filed for bankruptcy on November 11, days after the company lost more than $6 billion in withdrawals. Mr Bankman-Fried resigned as its chief executive.
He was later arrested in the Bahamas and extradited to the US, where he was indicted on fraud and conspiracy charges.
Mr Bankman-Fried has acknowledged there was inadequate risk management but has denied stealing funds from his customers.
Defence lawyers are expected to argue that witnesses testifying against him are doing so to receive a more favourable sentence.
Lawyers were also expected to provide an “advice of counsel” defence, which suggests the disgraced FTX founder did not knowingly commit fraud and was relying on advice from the company's lawyers.
Judge Lewis Kaplan at the weekend ruled “advice of counsel” could not be included in defence lawyers' opening statements, outlining in a 10-page memo that doing so could prejudice the jury.
Mr Bankman-Fried has been held at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Centre since August after Mr Kaplan ruled he had breached his bail conditions and attempted to tamper with witnesses.
He faces decades in prison if convicted.
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
If you go…
Emirates launched a new daily service to Mexico City this week, flying via Barcelona from Dh3,995.
Emirati citizens are among 67 nationalities who do not require a visa to Mexico. Entry is granted on arrival for stays of up to 180 days.
South Africa squad
: Faf du Plessis (captain), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock (wkt), Theunis de Bruyn, AB de Villiers, Dean Elgar, Heinrich Klaasen (wkt), Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Duanne Olivier, Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada.
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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Starfield
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Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Power: 575bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: Dh554,000
On sale: now
