Sam Bankman-Fried escapes second trial as United States Prosecutors state that they feel the decision is in the affected victims’ best interest.
In news that has baffled most crypto community, the United States prosecutors are reportedly thinking about dropping the second trial against the former CEO and founder of FTX crypto exchange, Sam-Bankman Fried.
The news was initially Broken by Reuters, which reported that the prosecutors for the United States fighting against SBF on the legal front have reportedly dropped the second trial because they don’t want to get entangled in lengthy court proceedings and want to resolve the matter as soon as possible.
The justification given by the prosecutors for their decision was that they believed their decision was in the public’s best interest, and it was due to their dedication to serving the general public that they decided to forgo going against SBF in a second trial.
The decision will undoubtedly be a cause of concern for the victims of the FTX crash, who have been waiting eagerly to get compensation for the funds they lost back in November of 2022.
Also, according to the court documents, another notable piece of information was that the prosecutors would file no new evidence because they believed that all the necessary information to build a case against SBF had already been given during the first trial.
The document states that a second trial wouldn’t affect the United States sentencing guidelines. The prosecutors believe that the information given in the first trial will be sufficient for the court to pass their judgment regarding the charges filed against SBF.
During the SBF trial held in October, prosecutors highlighted further evidence, which included instances of a conspiracy to bribe Chinese officials and the defendant’s involvement in making false statements to a U.S. bank as part of a deceptive scheme. The court can consider this additional evidence when determining the defendant’s sentencing.
Charges against Sam Bankman-Fried
Sam Bankman-Fried faced seven criminal charges related to the collapse of FTX and Alameda Research. He was found guilty of all of them on November 3rd, 2023. Here are the specific charges:
- Two counts of wire fraud. These charges accused Bankman-Fried of misrepresenting FTX’s financial condition to customers and lenders, ultimately leading them to invest or deposit funds based on false information.
- Two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. It was alleged that Bankman-Fried conspired with others to deceive FTX customers and Alameda Research lenders.
- One count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud accused Bankman-Fried of scheming to defraud FTX investors by making false and misleading statements about the exchange’s operations and financial health.
- One count of conspiracy to commit commodities fraud. The charge alleged that Bankman-Fried manipulated the price of cryptocurrency futures contracts to benefit Alameda Research.
- One count of conspiracy to commit money laundering was when Bankman-Fried was accused of conspiring to conceal the source and ownership of funds stolen from FTX customers and Alameda Research lenders.
It took the jury only four hours of deliberation before it passed the guilty verdict against SBF on all seven charges filed against him. On the other hand, SBF tried to delay his sentencing hearing by four to six weeks, but the court declined his request.
The sentencing date for SBF is scheduled for March of 2024, and the crypto world would be very intrigued to see how much punishment will be levied on the former CEO of FTX.
While the prosecutors may believe that this strategy will work for the best, the crypto community doesn’t share the same sentiment and has heavily criticized this move.
Coinbase’s chief officer for legal affairs, Paul Grewal, has said that this announcement is a miscarriage of justice. He emphasized the importance of transparency and public disclosure, particularly in campaign finance cases.
Grewal implied that the public is interested in knowing the details of charges, especially concerning what individuals, including politicians, were aware of and when they had this knowledge.
Simon Dixon, one of the founders of the online investment platform BnkToTheFuture.com, stated that the ruling not only shields U.S. politicians from additional examination regarding campaign contributions and clawbacks but also spares them from increased scrutiny during the upcoming 2024 election season.
Bankman-Fried admitted to being a substantial donor to various political factions leading up to the 2022 midterm elections. According to legal documents, his contributions to politicians amounted to over $100 million.
In the October trial, he explained that the contributions attributed to him were funded through loans obtained from Alameda Research, which is affiliated with FTX as its sister company.
These donations aimed to influence the U.S. government’s stance on cryptocurrency regulations. Before the downfall of FTX in November 2022, Bankman-Fried had envisioned making political donations amounting to $1 billion by 2024.
If Bankman-Fried is found guilty of the charges filed against him, he may face up to 115 years of imprisonment.
