By Luke Cohen
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Sam Bankman-Fried, who has lengthy denied stealing from prospects of his FTX cryptocurrency alternate, stated on Monday prosecutors had charged him with “troublesome” haste and requested a U.S. choose to dismiss 10 of the 13 prices in opposition to him. him.
In a submitting in Manhattan federal courtroom, attorneys for Bankman-Fried stated the now bankrupt FTX was removed from the one cryptocurrency firm to crash throughout a big inventory market crash in 2022, and that prosecutors unexpectedly charged their consumer in a “rush to judgment.”
“Somewhat than ready for conventional civil and regulatory processes to take their regular course to resolve the scenario, the federal government stepped in with each toes, wrongly searching for to show these civil and regulatory points into federal crimes,” its attorneys wrote.
Bankman-Fried, a 31-year-old former billionaire, boomed bitcoin and different digital belongings to amass an estimated web price of $26 billion, and have become an influential political and philanthropic donor earlier than FTX filed for chapter. in November.
He pleaded not responsible to fraud and conspiracy.
The alternate imploded after a wave of consumer withdrawals following experiences that it combined belongings with Alameda Analysis, Bankman-Fried’s crypto-focused hedge fund.
Manhattan federal prosecutors say Bankman-Fried deceived FTX traders and lenders and stole billions of {dollars} in consumer funds to make up Alameda losses, purchase actual property and make political contributions by of an unlawful straw donation program. In addition they accused him of bribing Chinese language officers.
Forward of a trial scheduled for Oct. 2, its attorneys have requested U.S. District Choose Lewis Kaplan to order prosecutors to show over any paperwork in FTX’s possession which may assist the protection, arguing that prosecutors had been solely asking the corporate for info. useful to his case.
“FTX Debtors have labored so intensely with the federal government and are so concerned within the investigation, evaluation and technique of the federal government case that they need to be thought-about a part of the ‘prosecution workforce'” , wrote his attorneys.
Representatives of FTX’s present administration didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark. A spokesperson for the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace in Manhattan declined to remark.
Prosecutors have till Might 29 to answer Bankman-Fried’s removing request, and Kaplan will hear arguments on June 15.
EXTRADITION
Bankman-Fried has acknowledged that FTX had insufficient danger administration, however denies stealing funds and has sought to distance itself from FTX’s day-to-day operations.
Three former shut associates – former Alameda co-CEO Caroline Ellison, former FTX chief expertise officer Gary Wang and former FTX engineering chief Nishad Singh – have all pleaded responsible and agreed to cooperate with the prosecutors.
In pleading responsible, Singh admitted to creating political donations in his personal identify that had been funded partly by transfers from Alameda.
However attorneys for Bankman-Fried stated Monday that the donations made by Singh, referred to as CC-1 in prosecutors’ filings in opposition to their consumer, didn’t truly violate election legal guidelines.
“The marketing campaign finance allegations reveal, as soon as once more, the implications of the federal government’s rush to indict Mr. Bankman-Fried,” his attorneys wrote.
Bankman-Fried has been largely confined to his mother and father’ residence since his December arrest within the Bahamas, the place he had lived and the place FTX was based mostly. He was extradited to america simply over per week after his arrest.
His mother and father, who dwell in Palo Alto, Calif., are regulation professors at Stanford College and co-signed his $250 million bond.
Of their courtroom papers on Monday, his attorneys stated the marketing campaign finance cost ought to be dismissed as a result of it was not on the give up warrant signed by the Bahamian overseas minister earlier than Bankman-Fried’s extradition, and that different prices, together with the bribery cost, had been improperly introduced after his extradition.
