FTX Founder Faces Select Charges As US Department Of Justice Narrows Case

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is planning to proceed with the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of FTX FTT/USD, on the charges brought against him in December 2022.

The DOJ will focus on a subset of charges, including wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering after the Bahamian court blocked additional charges from being pursued.

Bankman-Fried currently faces a total of 13 charges, but the specific charges for trial were selected due to the ongoing legal battle in the Bahamas.

The trial is expected to proceed as scheduled, while the resolution of the additional charges remains uncertain.

In a letter to U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan, the U.S. Attorney's office stated, "In light of the uncertainty concerning when The Bahamas will render a decision with respect to the specialty, and to simplify the proof at trial and decrease the burden of trial preparation on the defendant, the Government is prepared to proceed to trial as scheduled on the counts contained in the original Indictment."

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The original charges include wire fraud, fraud on FTX customers, securities fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to commit various offenses.

The prosecutors have requested a trial date in the first quarter of 2024 for the additional charges, while Bankman-Fried's trial is currently set to begin in October.

Bankman-Fried's defense team has filed motions to dismiss several charges, and oral arguments on the motions are scheduled to be heard.

Additionally, prosecutors addressed the claims made by Bankman-Fried's team regarding the DOJ's failure to provide requested discovery materials.

While the DOJ believes it has provided most of the requested materials, it acknowledged some delays due to technical issues and other reasons.

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