FTX Founder Pleads Not Guilty in New York

On Tuesday, Sam Bankman-Fried is reported to have entered a not guilty plea in federal court of New York to eight allegations related to the failure of his former cryptocurrency exchange FTX and its sister firm Alameda Research.

On October 2, the trial will start which will probably last for 4 weeks. He faces individual charges of securities fraud and wire fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to dodge campaign funding restrictions. 

In connection with their ongoing inquiry into Bankman-Fried and the demise of FTX, federal prosecutors recently announced the creation of a new task force to recover victim assets.

The SDNY U.S. attorney’s office had claimed that Bankman-Fried had spent $8 billion of client money on his flashy purchases of real estate, spending millions in political contributions and so on.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams stated on Tuesday: 

“The Southern District of New York is working around the clock to respond to the implosion of FTX.”

FTX Founder’s Associates Comply with Authorities

In a matter of weeks, federal prosecutors put together the criminal accusations against SBF in an indictment that was produced with extraordinary pace. 

Two of Bankman-Fried’s allies, Gary Wang, who co-founded FTX with Bankman-Fried, and Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of his hedge fund Alameda Research, helped them. On December 21, they both entered guilty pleas.

Ryan Salame, another ex-FTX executive, is believed to have informed officials about potential wrongdoings within FTX first. 

Two days before the cryptocurrency exchange sought bankruptcy protection, Salame, a former co-CEO at FTX, alerted Bahamian officials about “possible mishandling of clients’ assets,” according to a document by the Securities Commission of the Bahamas.

Additionally, Along with the federal allegations, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have already fil

ed complaints.

After being jailed in the Bahamas, Bankman-Fried was extradited to the US. He is currently bound to his parents’ California house with an electronic monitoring device after being freed on a $250 million bail.