Amid the arrangement with the Bahamian government, the DoJ couldn’t add further charges on SBF. However, it still plans to look at the alleged campaign finance scheme.
In a letter to a Manhattan federal judge Tuesday, August 8, US prosecutors said that the campaign financing charges against disgraced FTX founder Sam-Bankman Fried (SBF) are still on the table. They added that these charges shall appear in the indictment next week against SBF.
The development comes after the US government had to remove extra claims of campaign finance fraud, last month in July. This happened because of the US extradition treaty with the Bahamas, where Bankman-Fried and his company were located.
US Attorney Damian Williams also stated that the Department of Justice (DoJ) is planning to pursue seven charges against SBF in a trial that will begin in October 2022. The DoJ said it couldn’t add another charge to SBF’s case due to its agreement with the Bahamas. However, they will still look at the evidence related to the alleged campaign finance scheme while considering an existing wire fraud charge.
If found guilty of the initial seven charges, Bankman-Fried could face several years of sentence in prison. These charges are related to a supposed fraud against FTX investors worth billions of dollars. Attorney Williams said:
“The superseding indictment will make clear that Mr. Bankman-Fried remains charged with conducting an illegal campaign finance scheme as part of the fraud and money laundering schemes originally charged. The defendant’s use of customer deposits to conduct a political influence campaign was part of the wire fraud scheme charged in the original indictment. And as part of the originally charged money laundering scheme, the defendant also concealed the source of his fraudulent proceeds through political straw donations.”
SBF and His Political Donations
Even during the glory year of FTX, and before its collapse, Sam Bankman Fried was well known in the crypto circle for donations to political parties. currently, SBF has been facing a trial in the US after his extradition from the Bahamas in December 2022.
Back then, the DoJ officials had officially announced eight charges against SBF. Later, they added another five charges in superseding indictments earlier this year in February and March 23. However, the treaty with the Bahamas prevents prosecutors from adding further charges without prior consultation with the Bahamian government. The charge about illegal campaign donations was removed in July because it wasn’t part of the extradition agreement with the Bahamas.
Since his arrest, Bankman-Fried has mostly stayed at his parents’ house in California with a $250 million bond. However, prosecutors want to cancel his bail because he talked to reporters and shared information from his ex-girlfriend’s private journals in a way that might have scared her. She will be a witness at his trial in October.
next