Sam Bankman-Fried faces two trials, scheduled for October 2023 and March 2024.
Splitting the legal battle into two distinct parts, Sam Bankman-Fried, the co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, will have to defend himself against a total of 13 charges, according to the recent court decision.
It is worth noting that initially, Sam Bankman-Fried was slapped with eight charges during his extradition to the United States in late 2022. However, as the court hearing nears, the man faces over a dozen accusations.
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Opposing the motion, Bankman-Fried's legal team took a stand against the latter five charges, asserting that any charges introduced post-extradition should be invalid.
However, the prosecution remains undeterred. On June 14th, the DOJ prosecutors declared their intent to proceed with the original eight charges against Samuel Bankman-Fried. Their reasoning hinges on avoiding unnecessary delays that would inevitably arise if they were to await the approval of a motion filed by Bankman-Fried in The Bahamas.
An interesting twist to the narrative is the second trial set for March 2024, which will center around a plethora of alleged misdeeds, including bank fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business, derivatives, securities fraud, along with bribery conspiracy.
The remaining charges, which will be tried separately, paint a picture of alleged wire, derivatives, securities fraud, and conspiracy, all of which are said to have occurred at FTX and Alameda Research. Adding more weight to these allegations are the additional accusations of money laundering.
The narrative ends with a lingering question: What will the fate of Sam Bankman-Fried be as he gears up to face two separate trials? Only time will tell.
