Sam Bankman-Fried is back in the spotlight as new legal developments unfold in this case. Recent developments around this case have reignited a debate over his role in one of the biggest financial scandals in crypto history.
Appeal to Overturn Conviction
According to a report from Reuters, lawyers for Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the collapsed FTX cryptocurrency exchange are set to urge the federal appeals court on November 4, to overturn his conviction.
In 2023, a federal jury in Manhattan found Bankman-Fried guilty on seven criminal charges, concluding that he had stolen about $8 billion from FTX customers. Although SBF admitted to making mistakes while running FTX, he has denied stealing customers’ funds.
His lawyers are set to argue before the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that SBF did not receive a fair trial. They claim that the judge wrongly blocked evidence that could have supported Bankman-Fried’s belief that FTX still had enough money to cover customer withdrawals.
However, prosecutors argued that the trial evidence, including testimony from three cooperating witnesses and internal FTX documents, clearly proved that he was guilty. He was found guilty on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy in November 2023.
Renewed Claims of FTX Solvency
Just recently, an account linked to Sam Bankman-Fried shared a 14-page document on X claiming that FTX was never truly bankrupt. The document argues the exchange suffered only a temporary liquidity crisis and blames FTX’s external lawyers for taking control and forcing bankruptcy. “FTX was never bankrupt, even when its lawyers placed it into bankruptcy,” it said.
It also claimed that when FTX filed for bankruptcy in 2022, it still had enough assets including billions in cryptocurrency and major investments in companies.
The Push for Pardon
SBF’s inner circle has been reaching out to President Trump, hoping to secure a presidential pardon. This comes after he granted pardons to Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht and Binance’s Changpeng Zhao. However, Trump has not publicly commented on whether he is considering the request.
Bankman-Fried is currently serving his 25-year prison sentence and is expected to be released in 2044.
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