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Sam Bankman-Fried to Plead Not Guilty to Bribery, Campaign-Finance Charges: Reuters
The FTX founder previously pleaded not guilty to eight charges of fraud and conspiracy and is awaiting trial in October.
Updated Mar 30, 2023, 2:54 p.m. Published Mar 30, 2023, 11:13 a.m.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, will plead not guilty on charges of trying to evade campaign-financing laws and attempting to bribe one or more Chinese government officials, Reuters reported on Thursday.
Bankman-Fried previously pleaded not guilty to eight charges of fraud and conspiracy and is awaiting trial in New York in October.
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With the addition of accusations of attempting to evade campaign-finance laws and bribery of Chinese government officials, Bankman-Fried now faces a 13-count indictment.
Along with charges of fraud, prosecutors accused Bankman-Fried in February of conspiracy of make unlawful political contributions.
Bankman-Fried is accused of trying to bribe one or more Chinese government officials with around $40 million worth of crypto in an attempt to unfreeze certain accounts of his trading firm Alameda Research, which also filed for bankruptcy.
Lawyers for Bankman-Fried didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
A one-time billionaire, Bankman-Fried was arrested in December. He is free on bail residing at his parents' home in Palo Alto, Calif., following a $250 million bond. As part of the conditions of his bail, he has been given a new phone without internet access and a new laptop that can access only approved websites.
Read more: How Effective Altruism Power Brokers Helped Make Sam Bankman-Fried
UPDATE (March 30, 14:50 UTC): Adds paragraph on CoinDesk's request for confirmation from Bankman-Fried's lawyers.
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