FTX CEO Bankman-Fried pleads not guilty in criminal fraud case News
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FTX CEO Bankman-Fried pleads not guilty in criminal fraud case

Ex-CEO of crypto company FTX Sam Bankman-Fried Tuesday pleaded not guilty to criminal charges including wire fraud, conspiracy, money laundering and election finance violations.

In light of his bond release, Bankman-Fried also requested on Tuesday that his bail be modified to ensure that his bail suretors’ identities are redacted. The motion was challenged by news organization Inner City Press. The organization maintains that the public has a right to know the identities of the suretors, especially given that “funds are missing, and elected officials and campaigns received campaign contributions.”

Former FTX CTO Gary Wang and former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison are currently cooperating with authorities, and have pled guilty to the fraud charges against them. They are also likely to testify in court, which puts them at odds with Bankman-Fried.

If convicted, Bankman-Fried faces up to 115 years in prison. Prior to being arrested, he admitted to his mistakes but has said that he does not believe he is criminally liable. He also attributed the illegal transfer of funds into Alameda to inaccurate records and bank accounts. Bankman-Fried’s trial date is currently October 2 in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Bankman-Fried also faces civil charges brough by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC alleged that Bankman-Fried wrongly redirected FTX customer funds to his private crypto hedge fund called Alameda Research LLC. He allegedly used these customer assets to make venture investments, large political donations and real estate purchases. However, when these “speculative” venture investments brought no profits, Alameda began to lose its lending relationships. Money was no longer coming in from lenders or investors, and both Alameda and FTX filed for bankruptcy in 2022. Alameda has since activated its wallets to transfer out funds when Bankman-Fried was released on a $250 million bond.