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Sam Bankman-Fried, the infamous cryptocurrency entrepreneur and former CEO of FTX, will stand trial on the original eight criminal charges, according to US prosecutors. The move opens up the possibility for the Bahamas to bring charges against the industry’s favorite former CEO.
The trial is scheduled to begin February 6, 2024 in the US District Court in New York.
The charges against Bankman-Fried were announced in November 2023, charging him with market manipulation, wire fraud and money laundering, among other offenses. He was arrested in the Bahamas and extradited to the United States, while “defending himself” on his Twitter spaces and his interview tour.
The Justice Department said “the government proceeded in this matter pursuant to Article 14 of the United States-Bahamas Extradition Treaty.” It will give the Bahamas a chance ‘well before the trial date’ to approve SBF’s lawsuit in the United States before moving forward with his own charges – if decided – such as:
“there is no reason to dismiss the additional counts in the superseding indictment.”
Prosecutors added that while it is uncertain whether the Bahamas will proceed with their charges against Bankman-Fried, “the (US) government is prepared to proceed with the trial as scheduled on the counts contained in the original indictment, and to consent to discretion”. separation of additional heads. The prosecution further clarified that “the filing of a superseding indictment does not violate the rule of specialty”, which means the Bahamas is well within its right to extradite the right to bring charges against SBF and that the courts await the response of the Caribbean island.
The legal team representing the former FTX CEO previously sought to reduce the charges, arguing that 10 of the 13 charges against Bankman-Fried were redundant. Despite the original eight charges pending, the courts ordered that “counts four, six, nine, ten and thirteen be severed from the remaining counts of the indictment”, specifically stating that count 13 was “not applicable. “.
As of this writing, neither Bankman-Fried nor FTX have publicly commented on prosecutors’ latest decision.
