A US judge on Tuesday said prosecutors can discuss Sam Bankman-Fried’s political donations at his upcoming trial, as the donations are related to fraud charges facing the founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
US District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan said evidence of the former billionaire’s donations was “closely connected” to allegations he defrauded FTX customers by stealing billions of dollars in deposits.
“Evidence that defendant spent FTX customer funds for political contributions is direct evidence of a wire fraud scheme because it is relevant to determining defendant’s motive and alleged fraudulent intent,” Kaplan wrote.
Federal prosecutors initially charged Bankman-Fried, 31, with conspiracy to violate campaign finance laws, in addition to seven other counts of fraud and conspiracy stemming from the November 2022 collapse of now-bankrupt FTX.
They later dropped the campaign finance charge after the Bahamas, where Bankman-Fried was arrested in December, said it was not part of its agreement to extradite him.
Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to all charges. His trial is set to begin on Oct. 3.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan initially charged Sam Bankman-Fried, 31, with conspiring to violate US campaign finance laws. Reuters
Before FTX’s death, Bankman-Fried had been among the biggest donors to Democratic candidates and causes leading up to the November 2022 midterm elections.
Prosecutors said he used $100 million in stolen FTX deposits to fund the donation, which he hopes will prompt passage of crypto-friendly legislation.
In his ruling, Kaplan also rejected Bankman-Fried’s request to prevent prosecutors from telling jurors that FTX had declared bankruptcy and that he had resigned as chief executive.
Evidence of SBF’s political donations is “closely connected” to allegations he defrauded FTX customers by stealing billions of dollars in their deposits, US District Judge Lewis Kaplan said.REUTERS
Bankman-Fried has said FTX attorneys pressured her to allow the exchange to file for Chapter 11, and that she received an offer for substantial financing shortly thereafter.
Prosecutors said Bankman-Fried then sought to disrupt the bankruptcy estate, and undermine FTX’s creditors, by transferring assets to cryptocurrency wallets controlled by Bahamian regulators.
Kaplan said such evidence would be relevant at trial.
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
