Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of failed crypto exchange FTX, made his presence felt as he arrived at the U.S. Courthouse in New York City on July 26, 2023.
Photography by Amr Alfiky | Reuters
In a letter addressed to a Manhattan federal judge on Tuesday, prosecutors confirmed that campaign finance charges against Sam Bankman-Fried will remain part of the upcoming indictment. This development comes in addition to the existing seven-count indictment, which accuses Bankman-Fried of a multibillion-dollar fraud targeting FTX investors. If convicted, Bankman-Fried could face several decades of imprisonment. However, the U.S. government was previously unable to include additional charges related to campaign finance fraud due to extradition restrictions with the Bahamas, where Bankman-Fried and his company were based.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York has now stated that the upcoming indictment will explicitly mention Bankman-Fried’s involvement in an illegal campaign finance scheme. This information will be incorporated into two of the existing charges: wire fraud and money laundering.
Under the terms of the extradition treaty with the Bahamas, prosecutors cannot introduce additional charges against someone who has already been extradited without obtaining permission from the other government. Although the U.S. government initially requested Bankman-Fried’s extradition on a seven-count indictment, they were unable to secure clearance from the Bahamas to include campaign finance and bribery charges.
The allegations against Bankman-Fried include conspiring to launder customer money in order to fund his extravagant lifestyle and exert influence over politicians. His trial is scheduled to commence in October, nearly 11 months after FTX filed for bankruptcy.
A spokesperson for Sam Bankman-Fried declined to provide any comments on the matter.
— CNBC’s Dawn Giel contributed to this report.
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