- The DOJ has decided to widen the charges against SBF.
- SBF will now be indicted on multiple counts.
- The embattled FTX boss will face another trial next year.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has back-pedaled its decision not to pursue campaign finance charges against Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF).
In a letter dated Tuesday, 8th August 2023, addressed to Judge Kaplan, Federal prosecutors in New York have confirmed that the embattled FTX founder will be held accountable for allegedly flouting campaign finance laws, despite the DOJ dropping the charge last month on the basis of a technicality.
The Looming October Trial
The letter’s contents reveal that the prosecution plans to bring forth a superseding indictment against the SBF in the coming week, charging him with multiple counts that the government intends to prove at a trial on October 2, 2023.
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While the U.S. government is limited from pursuing political charges against SBF by its treaty obligations to the Bahamas, the prosecutors argued that the evidence against the charge is admissible under the Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b).
“The defendant’s use of customer deposits to conduct a political influence campaign was part of the wire fraud scheme charged in the original indictment. And as part of the originally charged money laundering scheme, the defendant also concealed the source of his fraudulent proceeds through political straw donations,” read the letter.
Sam Bankman-Fried will be answerable to other counts, including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and conspiracy to defraud the Federal Election Commission.
While SBF pleaded not guilty during the mentioning of the case on January 3, 2023, the prosecution team is set to put him on trial again in March 2024 for more charges that were brought forth during the investigations, including an alleged payment of a $40 million bribe to a Chinese official.
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Here is SBF’s response to accusations of witness tampering:
FTX’s SBF Denies Witness Tampering but Willing to Accept Gag Order on One Condition
Find out why FTX sued SBF alongside other executives for $1 billion:
Unraveling FTX’s $1 Billion Lawsuit Against SBF and Associates
