FTX’s Ex-CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, Faces Trial On Original Charges
The latest report states that the American Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced its plans to continue with the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, the ex-CEO of the collapsed FTX exchange. In addition, the DOJ refutes the petition of Sam’s attorney requesting the court to scrap out some of the charges against the defendant.
According to the report, the American DOJ has ordered Sam Bankman-Fried trial to continue as initially scheduled. However, the prosecutors would only try the defendant on eight out of the thirteen charges leveled against him in December last year.
Furthermore, the reduction in the number of charges is reportedly influenced by the pending response of the Bahamas government on approving additional indictments other than the original charges at the point of extracting the defendant from the country.
The controversies in the lawsuit arose because the defendant, SBF, was arrested and deported from the Bahamas last year.
During the extraction of the offender, the prosecutor reportedly presented eight charges which the extradited country, the Bahamas, agreed to. However, after the extradition, they added five charges to the lawsuit between February and March of this year.
Reacting to the additional charges, Sam Bankman-Fried’s attorney petitioned the court to dismiss the added indictment. They claimed that the prosecutors needed the approval of the Bahamas government to add any charges not included in the original extradition document.
To gain its consent, the US prosecutors sent a proposal to the Bahamas government requesting permission to add extra charges to the defendant’s original indictments. However, the government is pending its response, giving the defendant’s attorneys a chance to petition for refusal and put up a fight.
The Prosecutors Highlighted Charges Against SBF
Furthermore, Judge Lewis Kaplan of the American District Court in New York reportedly received a letter from Damian Williams, the American Attorney General, and his team. The letter stated that the controversies surrounding the Bahamian government approval would only be solved after the US court had tried SBF.
According to the lawsuit, Sam Bankman-Friend was charged with crypto-derivative fraud and securities fraud against customers on FTX. Also, he was accused of plotting to execute bank fraud, bribe Chinese government officers, and conduct unlawful money transfer business operations.
However, the letter highlighted that the prosecutors are still anticipating a specialty response from the Bahamas government which can affect the trial and reduce the number of charges the US government can’t prosecute SBF on.
Nonetheless, the prosecutors stated they were ready to charge the defendant based on the original indictments pending when the response would come.
For context, the original indictment against Sam Bankman-Fried includes a plot to commit: crypto-derivative fraud on customers, securities fraud against clients, and wire fraud against FTX customers.
In addition, the defendant was indicted for plotting wire fraud on creditors of Alameda Research firm, wire fraud on Alameda Research firm creditors, plotting to execute money laundering, and planning to commit fraud against the Federal Election Commission by making illegal donations to political parties.
SBF’s Attorneys Tried To Drop Some Charges
A recent report stated that Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial on the original charges would take place in the district court this year’s October. In addition, the prosecution team is s responsible for setting the date to try the defendant on the additional charges within the Q1 of 2024.
Notably, the legal team supporting the accused reportedly petitioned the court to cancel the additional charges against their client. However, the American Department of Justice has rejected the petition.
Regardless, the DOJ still fixed a date for the court hearing to address the conditions for the dismissal motion filed by the defendant’s lawyers, according to the report. Furthermore, the prosecution team responded to the claims made by the defendant’s team in a letter presented on Wednesday.
In the letter, they claimed that DoJ is yet to furnish all the submitted evidence concerning the lawsuit.
However, the DOJ stated that it processed all the necessary documents. It, however, admitted that it encountered delays due to technical glitches while processing the documents.
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