Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), former CEO of FTX, now faces a 13-count indictment as US officials added new charges. One of the new charges alleges that SBF leveraged $40 million to influence “one or more Chinese government officials.”
Details of the bribery charges against Sam Bankman-Fried
Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), co-founder and former CEO of FTX, is now facing charges of bribing Chinese government officials. “Bankman-Fried and others have agreed to pay cryptocurrency to one or more foreign officials in China to influence them to unfreeze the accounts to help Bankman-Fried, Alameda and others obtain and retain business and direct business to Bankman-Fried, Alameda and others and others”, the revised indictment state
This is not the first time that SBF’s accusation has been reviewed. In February 2023, Bitcoin.com News reported that the SBF indictment was revised to include bank fraud charges. SBF also faces other charges, including defrauding the Federal Election Commission (FEC), wire fraud and securities fraud. FTX’s former chief executive has pleaded not guilty to the charges, but three of the firm’s top aides have pleaded guilty and are cooperating with federal prosecutors.
The revised filing indicates that Chinese officials reportedly seized two accounts owned by Alameda Research, SBF’s quant trading arm, that were allegedly held at “two of China’s largest crypto exchanges” in 2021. Once Furthermore, the revised indictment does not include any other defendants, and Sam Bankman-Fried is the only person named.
With the addition of last month’s bank fraud charges and new bribery charges, SBF now faces a total of 13 charges from the New York Department of Justice. It also faces lawsuits brought by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
What do you think of the new charges facing SBF? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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