Sam Bankman-Fried has just pleaded not guilty to several charges related to the collapse of his former cryptocurrency exchange, FTX. This comes a few months after he was arrested in the Bahamas late last year. Bankman-Fried was charged with several crimes related to this collapse that were separate from the charges when he was extradited. He and his lawyers are going to attempt to fight these charges to see as little of them stick as possible. Whether this is going to work or not us something only time will tell. Keep reading to learn more about the situation and what he plans to argue with his legal team.
Who is Sam Bankman-Fried?
You may have clicked on this article without any knowledge of who Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is, or you may have heard of him but had no idea why he’s in the news as of late. We have written a few articles regarding who he is and why he’s currently on trial, but here’s a brief summary of the situation. Sam Bankman-Fried is the former CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange, FTX. Recently, FTX had a collapse that many thought was due to regular business reasons.
SBF, who was worth $26 billion at the peak of FTX was interviewed by many media outlets and maintained the narrative that there was no foul-play involved with the collapse, however, it was revealed that he had misused investor funds outside of the terms of conditions laid out in his exchange, causing investors to mass withdraw. As a result of this, the U.S. requested that he testifies before congress in order to get to the bottom of things. SBF, who was in the Bahamas at the time originally agreed to testify, but soon changed his mind and decided not to. He was arrested in the Bahamas on charges related defrauding investors not even a day before he was supposed to testify.
What were the charges he faced?
We now know that SBF was arrested and charged with defrauding investors, but what about these additional charges that he just pleaded not guilty to? Some of the charges he faced accused him of securities fraud, wire fraud, illegal campaign contributions, money laundering, bank fraud, and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business to name a few. It’s no wonder he pleaded not guilty to these charges, as if he were to be found guilty on all of them, he could potentially end up serving what would be a life sentence in prison.
Where is he now?
SBF was being held in Fox Hill Prison in Nassau for a total of 10 days before he was extradited to the U.S. From there, he was freed on a $250 million bond, which broke the record for being the largest bond ever set in an American criminal proceeding. He is currently on house arrest in his parent’s home in California.
What comes next?
The next step in the development regarding SBF and the collapse of FTX is for the trial to actually begin. His trial is currently set to begin this October. Until then, we will likely have to wait before we hear any new news regarding the situation. It seems unlikely that any new developments will come out until the trial, but this could easily change depending on what happens. For example, SBF was summoned back into court in February after a judge learned about him accessing a VPN to watch the NFL playoffs and Super Bowl Game, regardless of the fact that he was not meant to access any encrypted messaging apps.
Be sure to continue following our blog in order to learn of any new developments regarding this case. Come October, we will hopefully know whether or not SBF is found guilty or not guilty to the charges he is facing, as well as what sentencing, if any he will face. Stay tuned to remain updated!