The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has agreed to try the former CEO of the bankrupt crypto exchange, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), on the eight original charges brought to his U.S. indictment in December 2022 before his extradition from the Bahamas to the U.S. The move followed a Bahamian court order blocking the local government from accepting additional charges. SBF faced 13 charges in the U.S., but five of them, including bank fraud and bribery, were added to the indictment after his extradition. - The original criminal charges consisted of eight counts, and SBF already pleaded not guilty to all of them.
- In late March, the former FTX executive also pleaded not guilty to the five additional charges in New York federal court.
- In his motion to dismiss, SBF's lawyers argued that the additional charges must first be agreed upon by the Bahamian government before he is tried since he was originally arrested in the Bahamas.
- Following the recent order from a Bahamian court, the U.S. prosecutors stated that the country agreed to proceed with the trial with the counts in the original indictment to simplify the proof at trial and decrease the burden of trial preparation on the defendant.
- The original allegations include money laundering, unlawful political contributions, securities fraud, and wire fraud.
- SBF is expected to appear in court to defend himself in the bankruptcy trial scheduled for October, and the U.S. prosecutors requested another trial date in Q1 2024 for the additional charges.
FTX, previously the third-largest crypto exchange, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2022, with all the 130 entities under the roof of FTX Group. - The downfall followed the claims that SBF used customer funds in FTX to compensate for losses at Alameda Research.
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