- The DOJ has put a number on SBF’s political campaign finance charge.
- The embattled former FTX boss secretly spent millions of customer funds.
- Democrats and Republicans have been mentioned in the charge.
Prosecutors in the Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) case have filed a new indictment against the embattled former FTX boss, charging him for allegedly using $100 million of stolen customer funds to bankroll political campaigns ahead of the 2022 U.S. midterm elections.
The DOJ had previously charged SBF for flouting campaign finance laws but later dropped the accusations following consultations with Bahaman authorities. The latest indictment follows a workaround of the technicality issue that previously made the prosecutors drop the charges.
SBF Accused of Lobbying Congress to Influence Crypto Regulations
According to court documents, the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office said that SBF secretly siphoned customer funds from FTX through the exchange’s sister company, Alameda Research, and deposited the money into the personal bank accounts of FTX directors.
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While linking this with the conspiracy to commit fraud charge, the prosecution went on record saying SBF then directed FTX executives to make campaign donations under their name in a bid to evade contribution limits and maximize the exchange’s political influence.
“As Bankman-Fried well knew, FTX’s finances contained a multi-billion-dollar deficiency caused by his own misappropriation of customer funds from the exchange, and yet he continued through FTX’s collapse in November 2022 to use misappropriated customer funds to pay for his investments, acquisitions, and campaign contributions,” read the indictment.
The prosecution side also pointed out that SBF specifically targeted both the Democrats and Republicans with his donation, adding that he wanted Congress and regulatory agencies to pass legislation that would enable FTX to accept customer deposits in the U.S. and grow continually.
In the superseding indictment, SBF faces seven counts out of the eight he was originally charged with in December 2022. His trial is set to begin on October 2.
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Read how SBF was linked to a rug pull that left investors with empty pockets:
SBF Linked to BALD Rugpull: $25M Liquidity Crunch On Base L2
Take a deep dive into the landmark $1 billion lawsuit against SBF:
Unraveling FTX’s $1 Billion Lawsuit Against SBF and Associates
