Sam Bankman-Fried Could Have Some Charges Dropped if Bahamas Objects
U.S. prosecutors say they wouldn’t pursue some criminal counts against the FTX founder if the island nation says they violate the terms of his extradition
The Justice Department said it would drop some of the criminal charges against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried if the Bahamas says they violate the terms of his extradition to the U.S.
Federal prosecutors said in a filing late Monday that they were waiting on the Bahamian government’s approval of three additional counts that they brought against Bankman-Fried after his arrest and extradition in December.
“The government will proceed on the new charges…if The Bahamas consents to trial on these charges, and will not proceed on those counts if The Bahamas denies the Government’s request,” prosecutors said.
Bankman-Fried is accused of stealing billions of dollars from FTX customers while defrauding investors and lenders to his crypto-investment firm, Alameda Research. Prosecutors initially charged Bankman-Fried with eight counts, including several fraud charges, a money-laundering conspiracy and conspiring to violate campaign-finance law in a scheme to mask the true source of political donations.
After his arrest, Bankman-Fried consented to his extradition from the Bahamas, allowing for his transfer to U.S. custody. Since his arrival, prosecutors have added more charges, including conspiring to commit bank fraud and conspiring to bribe a Chinese official.
Bankman-Fried’s lawyers have argued most of the new charges violate the rules of the extradition treaty between the U.S. and the Bahamas. Prosecutors responded Monday that the new charges don’t run afoul of the treaty and that it is up to the Bahamas—not Bankman-Fried—to object.
The filing was one of two from the Justice Department, which opposed motions by Bankman-Fried to have most charges dismissed. The FTX founder’s lawyers argued the government had brought flawed charges in a rush to indict him after FTX filed for bankruptcy protection in November.
A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan declined to comment. A representative of the Bahamas didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for Bankman-Fried declined to comment.
Separately, lawyers for Bankman-Fried filed a motion late Tuesday to compel the government to provide documents showing the legal advice that the law firm Fenwick & West gave to FTX and Alameda, saying the material could be exculpatory evidence. The law firm served as outside counsel for both companies for years and at times represented Bankman-Fried personally, his lawyers said.
“Because Fenwick was so deeply involved with FTX and Alameda from their inception, Fenwick provided legal advice on many of the issues that are at the core of the Government’s allegations,” they said.
Bankman-Fried used the advice to make decisions that are now the subject of the charges, including the bank-fraud conspiracy count, his lawyers said. A representative for Fenwick & West didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bankman-Fried’s trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 2. His defense team previously asked for two separate trials, one on the fraud-related charges and one on the allegations related to campaign contributions and foreign bribery.
Prosecutors oppose that request.
“Severing the counts would waste Court and Government resources on two lengthy and complex trials, which would require many of the same witnesses—including more than one cooperating witness—to testify twice,” prosecutors said Monday.
Both Caroline Ellison and Nishad Singh, who were once among Bankman-Fried’s top lieutenants and are cooperating with the government, are expected to testify at trial, prosecutors said.
The government’s new submissions also offered a window into the breadth of its investigation, saying it included dozens of interviews with witnesses, more than 100 subpoenas or voluntary information requests, and numerous search and seizure warrants.
A Manhattan federal judge is expected to hear oral arguments June 15 on the recent motions.