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| Photo Credit: FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried |
On Tuesday, US prosecutors revealed a fresh indictment against Sam Bankman-Fried. The charges accuse the founder of the now-defunct FTX cryptocurrency exchange of plotting to bribe Chinese government officials by offering payments worth $40 million.
Bankman-Fried has been charged by federal prosecutors in Manhattan with allegedly orchestrating a payment to release frozen accounts belonging to his hedge fund, Alameda Research, which were seized by Chinese authorities. The accounts were reportedly holding over $1 billion in cryptocurrency at the time.
According to the latest indictment, the frozen accounts were released after the bribe payment was transferred in November 2021 from Alameda's primary trading account to a personal cryptocurrency wallet. Following the release of the accounts, Bankman-Fried allegedly authorized the transfer of tens of millions of dollars in additional cryptocurrency to complete the bribe.
The latest charge adds to the mounting pressure on Sam Bankman-Fried, the 31-year-old former billionaire, who previously pleaded not guilty to eight charges relating to the downfall of FTX. Prosecutors allege that Bankman-Fried misappropriated billions of dollars in customer funds to cover losses sustained by Alameda.
At the time of writing, Bankman-Fried's legal representatives have not provided a response to the charges. Although Bankman-Fried has admitted to insufficient risk management at FTX, he has consistently denied any wrongdoing concerning the misappropriation of funds. Efforts to reach China's foreign ministry outside of business hours in Beijing have been unsuccessful.
In response to the prosecution's request to arraign Bankman-Fried on the new 13-count indictment, District Judge Lewis Kaplan has scheduled a court hearing for Thursday.