FTX founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is seeking to have as many as 10 criminal charges against him dismissed in court, months ahead of a criminal trial scheduled for October.
In court documents filed May 8 in the Southern District of New York, SBF's legal team threw out all but three counts of conspiracy to commit commodity fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Commenting on the m ove, crypto researcher Molly White said, "At least part of the reason seems to come down to the addition of additional costs following the SBF's extradition deal."
SBF was originally extradited from the Bahamas to the United States to face eight criminal charges of fraud and money laundering; however, his legal team argued that four of the five additional charges added since February "violated the special provisions of the treaty" Regulation ". Under "Special Rules", the requesting country (USA) is generally obliged to try the extradited offender only for the offense for which it was extradited (SBF).
"In the extradition proceedings in the Bahamas, it was understood by the parties to the court, the judiciary and the court itself that, notwithstanding the use of the simplified procedure, the special clause applied. There was no waiver of the professional rule. On the contrary, there was an express recognition that it applied," the lawyers argued . The four charges include conspiracy to commit bank fraud and other personal wire fraud charges related to his alleged conduct at FTX and Alameda. The most recent charge, dated March 2 8 , involved an alleged $40 million bribe to a Chinese government official.
Among other things, SBF's attorneys sought to dismiss other charges related to "conspiracy to fraud the United States" and charges related to wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, citing failure to state sufficient crimes in those counts.
According to his legal team, the initial indictment, sent via diplomatic note, failed to properly "identify" violations related to campaign finance laws, and did not "mention any US bank accounts, including any linked to FTX or Alameda." bank account" in connection with wire fraud allegations. US District Judge Lewis Kaplan will hear arguments on the motion to dismiss on June 15, and prosecutors have until May 29 to respond. While others in the SBF inner circle have pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. cutors, The man himself has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
SBF has been under house arrest at his parents' home in Paolo Alto since December last year. Judge Kaplan recently approved wiretapping of SBF's parents as a way to satisfy bail conditions, despite requests from SBF's legal team for changes.
