Cyrus Vance Protested by In-N-Out Burger; Trial of FTX Begins

The CEO of FTX Corp. (FTCX) was secretly taped telling a company executive to stop selling a $2 million asset, according to people familiar with the matter.

The recorded meeting came after FTX's board of directors received an anonymous letter alleging that CEO Eric Bankman-Fried abused company resources during personal trips, lovers asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

The meeting was held in February at FTX headquarters in New York in the presence of the CFO and FTX's legal counsel. The tape recorder was placed on a desk by a company employee, who was instructed to do so by an outside investigator employed by FTX's management. In the recording, Bankman-Fried can be heard saying that he did not want irregularities in his travel record and admitting that he used the company plane for personal travel. He also told one executive that there was nothing wrong with his travel habits as it wasn't like having prostitutes involved or anything.

Bankman-Fried did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the recording or other allegations related to this story. His lawyer, Gerald Shargel, refused