Charges continue to mount against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF)—including accusations of bribing the Chinese government.
Key Details
- SBF was charged in December with fraud following the precipitous collapse of FTX—in one of the largest crypto exchange failures in history.
- New charges have continued to release since, with a new indictment being passed down on Monday, The Wall Street Journal reports.
- Prosecutors allege that SBF approved paying Chinese government officials $40 million to gain access to $1 billion in frozen crypto in 2021, which was being held by Chinese crypto exchanges for several months.
- The 13-part indictment was unsealed on Tuesday, adding another charge to his upcoming trial in October.
Why It’s News
SBF currently stands charged with having overseen one of the largest financial failures in modern history.
FTX declared bankruptcy in November after an insolvency crisis, pausing withdrawals on billions of dollars worth of monetary assets. It was revealed afterward that the company was terribly managed, handled taxes through consumer-grade tax software Turbo Tax, and shifted liquidity between itself and its sister company Alameda Research.
Liquidation lawyer John Jay Ray III stated in November that the collapse marketed the worse case of documented financial abuse since the collapse of Enron—further noting that the complex tangle of missing assets, undocumented transfers, and hidden funds will likely make it impossible for all of the outstanding depositors to be reimbursed.
SBF is currently on house arrest, where he is severely limited in access to the internet and to his smartphone. He entered a “not guilty” plea to his charges and subsequently attempted to defend himself from fraud claims in a series of January Substack posts. Several of his coworkers have already responded to allegations by pleading guilty or taking plea deals and working with prosecutors on SBF’s charges.
