- The Supreme Court of the Bahamas has allowed him to challenge the deportation order
- SBF attorneys are seeking to have five charges dismissed that were not on file at the time of extradition
- The US Justice Department may remove them, but only after an assessment by the Foreign Ministry and the Bahamas Attorney General’s Office
June 13, the Bahamas Supreme Court allowed Sam Bankman-Fried to challenge his extradition conditions. SBF attorneys sought this in order to remove some of the counts, including bank fraud and bribery.
“Plaintiff is granted leave to begin trial.. All of the grounds advanced by the petitioner reveal disputed claims with a real prospect of success,” said Chairman Lauren Klein.
She also stressed, Bahamian authorities cannot ratify additional counts until the process is complete. SBF’s attorney has already commented on the situation, noting that he will continue to make progress in the Bahamas.
What’s the deal here?”
In late May, Sam Bankman Fried’s attorneys filed a motion to dismiss several counts. In particular, these are the same bank fraud and bribery.
They said that the DOJ added them later, after the extradition. And that’s not part of the conditions that Bankman-Fried agreed to when he was deported.
The DOJ initially disagreed with the request, but then said it would drop the five counts.. But only if Bahamian authorities do not object.
The Foreign Ministry and Attorney General’s Office, in turn, cannot approve the expanded list of charges until SBF has the right to challenge it in court.
Sam Bankman-Fried thus has a real chance to decriminalize the case. If 5 of the 13 charges are removed, it would greatly “soften” the potential sentence.