Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyers have filed a document that requests a judge to drop the charges against him. They called the charges a ‘rush to judgment.‘
FTX founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has challenged the indictment against him and asked a judge to throw the charges out of court. Bankman-Fried’s lawyers, in a filing submitted to a federal court in Manhattan, said that the charges against him were a ‘rush to judgment’ by prosecutors. They cited the market crash of 2022 as being the main reason behind the collapse.
The lawyers went on to say that what was a civil issue turned out into a criminal one because of haste. The filing reads,
“Rather than wait for traditional civil and regulatory processes following their ordinary course to address the situation, the Government jumped in with both feet, improperly seeking to turn these civil and regulatory issues into federal crimes.”
It’s unclear whether the judge will consider dropping the charges against Bankman-Fried. The FTX founder has dominated headlines since the collapse of the exchange, and his charges are numerous and serious.
Sam Bankman-Fried Faces Multiple Charges
Among the charges laid against Bankman-Fried include fraud and the bribing of Chinese officials. He pleaded not guilty to defrauding customers and faces a total of 12 different charges.
Other charges include committing bank fraud and conspiring to make illegal political donations. Allegedly, he made these donations through straw donors or with corporate funds. That includes FTX customer funds.
If the court convicts Bankman-Fried, he could face more than 100 years in prison. He is currently on bail, having paid $250 million.
FTX Taking Steps to Pay Back Customers
Meanwhile, the Japanese unit of FTX has reopened, offering some hope for users of that exchange. The exchange has already allowed customers to withdraw their funds, and this is the start of a long recovery process.
To aid the return of funds of customers, FTX has also sold the LedgerX platform to Miami International Holdings for $50 million. The platform was sold at a steep loss, but FTX needs all the assets and funds it can get in order to repay customers.
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