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Sam Bankman-Fried, the notorious cryptocurrency entrepreneur and former CEO of FTX, will stand trial on the authentic eight felony expenses, in response to U.S. prosecutors. The transfer opens up the chance for the Bahamas to carry forth any expenses to the trade’s favourite former CEO.
The trial is about to start out on February 6, 2024, in the U.S. District Court in New York.
The expenses towards Bankman-Fried had been introduced in November 2023, accusing him of market manipulation, wire fraud and cash laundering, amongst different offenses. He was arrested in the Bahamas and extradited to the United States, all whereas “advocating” for himself on his Twitter Spaces and interview tour.
The Department of Justice said that “the Government has proceeded in this case in accordance with Article 14 of the extradition treaty between the United States and the Bahamas.” This will give the Bahamas an opportunity “well in advance of the trial date” to approve SBF’s trial in the United States earlier than shifting ahead with its personal expenses — if determined upon — as:
“there is no basis to dismiss the additional counts in the superseding indictment.”
The prosecutors added that whereas it’s unsure if the Bahamas will comply with by way of with its expenses towards Bankman-Fried, “the [U.S.] Government is prepared to proceed to trial as scheduled on the counts contained in the original Indictment, and to consent to discretionary severance of the additional counts.” The prosecution additional clarified that “the filing of a superseding indictment does not violate the rule of specialty,” that means that the Bahamas are nicely of their extraditing treaty rights to file expenses towards SBF and the courts await the response of the Caribbean island.
The authorized workforce representing the former FTX CEO had beforehand sought to scale back the expenses, arguing that 10 out of the 13 expenses introduced upon Bankman-Fried had been redundant. Despite the authentic eight expenses standing, the courts ordered “Counts Four, Six, Nine, Ten, and Thirteen severed from the remaining counts in the Indictment,” particularly stating that depend 13 was “moot.”
At the time of writing, neither Bankman-Fried nor FTX has commented publicly on the prosecutors’ newest resolution.
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