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| Sam Pinkman-Fred |
Sam Pinkman-Fried, the former CEO of collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has denied committing fraud.
In his first appearance since the crash, the man once described as the "king of cryptocurrency" told the New York Times that he had had a "bad month" and had almost no money left.
The FTX stock exchange collapsed last month, after its value was estimated at $32 billion.
Many investors were unable to withdraw their money from the bankrupt global stock exchange.
Pinkman-Fred, 30, said lawyers advised him not to speak publicly about the matter, but he ignored their advice.
He denied having moved any personal funds outside of FTX - saying he now has "almost nothing".
Bankman-Fred, speaking from the Bahamas, said he was left with one credit card with $100,000 in debt.
He said in the interview that he did not intend to mislead investors, adding, "I never attempted to commit fraud."
But when asked several times about details of money movements between FTX and other entities, including his trading company, Alameda Research, he sometimes seemed to provide superficial details.
He also said the company has engaged in "greenwashing" in which companies engage in environmental projects for publicity.
Pinkman-Fred was once seen as a young version of the legendary American investor Warren Buffet, and his wealth as of late October was estimated at more than $15 billion.
But he said he underestimated the amount of cash needed to cover customers' withdrawals on the FTX exchange - leading to growing concern about the exchange.
Many cryptocurrency companies have struggled in light of the decline in economic growth and amid concerns about the viability of cryptocurrencies in general.
FTX declared bankruptcy shortly thereafter. Pinkman-Fried stepped down as CEO on November 11.
According to court filings earlier in November, FTX currently owes 50 of its major lenders nearly $3.1 billion.
Pinkman-Fried had become well known in Washington, D.C. as a political donor, supposedly supporting pandemic prevention and efforts to improve cryptocurrency laws and regulations.
But speaking to Times reporter Andrew Ross Sorkin, Pinkman-Fried admitted that the bulk of his work in Washington, D.C., was public relations "disguised as doing good."
He said he was not concerned at the present time with potential criminal or civil liability.
"There's plenty of time and space to think about myself and my future," Pinkman-Fried said, after starting and stopping several times. "I don't think this is the end," he added.
Asked if he was sincere in his responses, Pinkman-Fried said he was as honest as he knew. "I don't know that I ever lied," he said.
Although he did not provide evidence to support his account, he said he believes that FTXUS is solvent and can in fact pay back US investors.
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