FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried seeks dismissal of indictment

NEW YORK (AP) — FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried sought a dismissal of legal fees in opposition to him in a court docket submitting late Monday, saying prosecutors have improperly made federal crimes out of civil and regulatory points that resulted from an industrywide collapse of cryptocurrency markets dubbed the “crypto winter.”

Attorneys for the onetime head of a multibillion greenback cryptocurrency change stated in papers in Manhattan federal court docket that the U.S. authorities had a “dramatic — and troubling” response to a broad market crash in cryptocurrency final 12 months that affected each nook of the market.

They stated Bankman-Fried’s non-U.S. FTX firm lasted far longer than others within the business earlier than it entered chapter in November when the worldwide change ran out of cash after the equal of a financial institution run. A trial is tentatively set for the autumn.

Prosecutors alleged in December that Bankman-Fried cheated traders and looted buyer deposits on FTX to make lavish actual property purchases, donate cash to politicians and make dangerous trades at Alameda Analysis, his cryptocurrency hedge fund buying and selling agency. U.S. Lawyer Damian Williams has known as it one of many largest frauds in U.S. historical past.

In March, new fees added to the indictment alleged that Bankman-Fried violated the anti-bribery provisions of the Overseas Corrupt Practices Act by directing the fee of $40 million in bribes to a Chinese language official or officers to unlock $1 billion in cryptocurrency that was frozen in early 2021.

The unique indictment to which Bankman-Fried pleaded not responsible after his December extradition from the Bahamas contained eight imprecise and non-specific fees in opposition to Bankman-Fried, his legal professionals stated Monday.

The extra fees filed later violated an Extradition Treaty between the USA and the Bahamas, they added.

“Within the wake of the ‘crypto winter,’ the Authorities, in hindsight, might dislike or disapprove of enterprise practices of the cryptocurrency business, FTX, and even Mr. Bankman-Fried — however this doesn’t give it license to show them into federal crimes,” Bankman-Fried’s legal professionals wrote.

Bankman-Fried, 31, has been dwelling along with his mother and father in Palo Alto, California, underneath a $250 million bail association that has severely restricted his capability to speak on the web and transfer cash round.

In different papers filed Monday, Bankman-Fried’s legal professionals sought dismissal of parts of the indictment on different grounds, together with with arguments that some fees duplicated others.

In addition they claimed that FTX debtors had turn out to be an arm of the federal government, casting Bankman-Fried as a villain and offering a lot data to prosecutors that protection legal professionals should fear that they are going to be unable to get their fingers on paperwork that may assist show Bankman-Fried’s innocence.

A message despatched to a spokesperson for prosecutors was not instantly returned.