United States prosecutors are expected to drop a charge against FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried that alleged he haconspired to make unlawful campaign contributions.
In a July 26 letter to District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said the government was informed by The Bahamas that it did not agree to extradite Bankman-Fried on the charge, and thus prosecutors would subsequently not carry it forward to trial.
“The Bahamas did not intend to extradite the defendant on the campaign contributions count,” Williams wrote in the letter. “In keeping with its treaty obligations to The Bahamas, the Government does not intend to proceed to trial on the campaign contributions count.”
Excerpt of William’s letter submitted to the court providing an update on the charge. Source: CourtListener
The charge was one Bankman-Fried had previously contested, saying it was made after his extradition agreement from the Bahamas and was in violation of a treaty between the two countries.
Bankman-Fried faces 13 charges, eight of which were unsealed in December, including the charge the government now intends to drop. Another five charges were added in superseding indictments in February and March 2023.
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The government split the charges into separate trials slated to take place in October 2023 and March 2024 due to prosecutors requesting a waiver from Bahamian authorities to try Bankman-Fried on the five additional charges imposed after his extradition.
After the charge is dropped, the former FTX chief will face a total of 12 charges, including various allegations of fraud and fraud conspiracy, money laundering and bribing Chinese officials. Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to everything.
In a July 26 hearing, prosecutors requested to revoke Bankman-Fried’s bail, alleging he intimidated and tried to publicly discredit former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison by leaking her private journals to The New York Times.
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