In a new indictment sealed Tuesday, officials have charged Sam Bankman-Fried with bribing Chinese authorities to release frozen assets.
Federal prosecutors have accused Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the former CEO of failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, of attempting to bribe “one or more” Chinese government officials with $40 million. his hedge fund, Alameda Research;
Bankman-Fried has already faced eight counts of fraud and conspiracy, and five others have yet to be arraigned. If convicted on all counts, he could face more than his 155 years in prison, and a trial is set for him in October.
new prosecution Bankman-Fried, unsealed Tuesday by the Southern District of New York, devised a fraudulent scheme to steal deposits from FTX to fund Alameda Research’s risky bets. claims. Additionally, SBF served American politicians without proper documentation throughout their lives in the Bahamas. The collapse and subsequent bankruptcy of FTX rocked the industry as he was once one of the largest and most trusted exchanges.
SBF is under house arrest at his parent’s home in Palo Alto, California with restricted movement. His three former business partners, including FTX co-founder Gary Wang and his CEO of Alameda Research Caroline Ellison, have already pleaded guilty to their respective charges.
On Tuesday, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan approved a bail change to limit Bankman-Fried’s access to the Internet.Following this move concern Regarding his use of a virtual private network that hides the location of his Internet connection. Bankman-Fried will be allowed to use his VPN only to access the database to help prepare his defense via a laptop provided by his attorney pursuant to the amendment.
