New charges against Sam Bankman-Fried, the controversial former CEO of FTX, were removed... For now.
FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried exits a Manhattan Federal Court for a court appearance on February 16, 2023 in New York City. Bankman-Fried is charged with eight criminal counts of fraud, conspiracy, and money-laundering offenses which include making illegal political contributions.
As of writing, the FTX founder is still facing some serious criminal charges after the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange company.
However, U.S. federal prosecutors said they would withdraw five of the 13 criminal charges against Bankman-Fried.
One of the withdrawn charges is bribery of a foreign government official. CNBC reported that federal prosecutors asked a judge to remove the five new charges on Thursday, June 15.
New Charges Against Sam Bankman-Fried Moved To 2024
The five new criminal charges against the former FTX CEO were punted after a Bahamas court doubted that the U.S. government followed the correct procedure.
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried arrives at the U.S. federal courthouse in New York City on March 30, 2023 - Bankman-Fried is expected to plead not guilty to new U.S. criminal charges, which include conspiring to violate campaign finance laws and bribe Chinese authorities following the collapse of his crypto currency exchange, FTX.
Recently, the legal team of the tech executive argued that the five new charges were not part of the original indictment under which Sam had been extradited from the Bahamas.
Of course, removing the five criminal charges is a win-win situation for Bankman-Fried's legal team.
However, there's a catch. The New York Times reported that federal prosecutors asked Lewis A. Kaplan of the Federal District Court in Manhattan to have a second trial in 2024.
This trial is expected to include the five new criminal charges against Sam. As of writing, it is still unclear when will the Bahamas court authorize the new counts against the FTX founder, as stated by prosecutors.
Although the new charges were punted, the federal government could still take advantage of this since they will have more time to ensure that the conditions of the U.S.-Bahamas extradition treaty are met.
U.S. federal prosecutors will also have ample time to satisfy the concerns of the Bahamas government.
Bankman-Fried Will Face Eight Counts
Of course, the controversial FTX founder will still face the original eight criminal charges against him.
The U.S. Department of Justice said that it is fine with this just to avoid legal complications connected to the billionaire's extradition from the Bahamas.
"The Government is prepared to proceed to trial as scheduled on the counts contained in the original Indictment," said the DOJ officials.
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