Global Courant 2023-05-09 12:25:39
Bankman-Fried’s lawyers tell the court that prosecutors rushed to charge their client.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has asked a United States court to throw out the majority of charges against him over the implosion of his crypto empire.
In a preliminary ruling filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Bankman-Fried’s attorneys argued that prosecutors had rushed to a verdict in indicting their client.
Bankman-Fried’s lawyers asked the court to dismiss 10 of the 13 charges, including fraud and money laundering, due in part to the failure of prosecutors to establish a criminal offence.
“Instead of waiting for the traditional civil and regulatory processes to take their normal course to address the situation, the government jumped in with both feet and improperly attempted to turn these civil and regulatory issues into federal crimes.” his attorneys wrote in the filing.
Bankman-Fried, 31, was hailed as one of the world’s youngest billionaires and biggest names in crypto until FTX collapsed amid allegations of massive fraud.
Prosecutors allege that Bankman-Fried misused client money to cover losses at sister trading house Alameda, purchase real estate and make illegal political contributions. He is also accused of bribing a Chinese government official worth at least $40 million to convince authorities to unblock his hedge fund accounts.
Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him and will face trial in New York in October.
Prosecutors have until May 29 to respond to his request to be dismissed from charges.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan will hear arguments on June 15.
