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Justice appears to be tightening its grip around Sam Bankman-Fried, the co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX. Recent developments indicate that U.S. prosecutors are determined to press forward with their case against Bankman-Fried, maintaining the charges initially presented to him.
The unfolding legal drama commenced with the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) submitting a declaration to the presiding district judge, Lewis Kaplan, on June 14. In this legal communication, the DoJ expressed their clear intent to proceed with the trial based on the original eight charges filed against the entrepreneur in December 2022.
Bankman-Fried, currently residing in the Bahamas, argued that five of the total 13 charges he faced were not included in the initial indictment, which formed the basis for his extradition. In response to Bankman-Fried's appeal, which could potentially prolong the legal proceedings, the prosecutors firmly declared their readiness to continue with the trial as originally planned, standing by the charges outlined in the initial indictment.
Simultaneously, the Supreme Court of the Bahamas issued a verdict on the same day, ruling that Bankman-Fried must be given the opportunity to officially contest the new charges before the Bahamas can grant its consent. The FTX co-founder's legal troubles multiplied after his extradition, with the DoJ adding four additional charges in February. These charges were related to fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, and an additional charge in March pertaining to alleged bribes given to Chinese officials.
Prosecutors argue that Bankman-Fried's actions, including the commingling of customer funds and providing false information about FTX's risk management, resulted in losses for investors and customers. In the meantime, Bankman-Fried's colleagues at Alameda Research, Gary Wang and former CEO Caroline Ellison, have already pleaded guilty to fraud in connection with the collapse. Bankman-Fried, however, maintains that the failure was due to managerial errors rather than fraud.
