FTX founder Sam Bankman Fried charged with bribing the Chinese government with $40 million

• FTX former is facing a new indictment of 13 counts filed by United States attorney Damian Williams.
• The filing accused Sam Bankman Fried of attempting to unfreeze $1 billion worth of assets held in Alameda Research’s accounts.
• Sam Bankman Fried was charged with bribery hours after reaching an agreement with US prosecutors over his bail conditions.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is once again facing trouble at the hands of United States law enforcement. The ongoing prosecution of the disgraced executive continues, with Bankman-Fried facing a new charge on March 28.

FTX founder in trouble over Chinese officials

As per a court filing by United States attorney Damian Williams, Sam Bankman-Fried is currently facing bribery charges. A new 13-count indictment from the authorities accused the former FTX Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of bribing Chinese government officials.

The indictment noted that Bankman-Fried, along with other entities, transferred the $40 million in the form of cryptocurrency to unfreeze the digital asset accounts related to FTX’s sister company Alameda Research. The accounts are said to be holding over $1 billion in crypto assets, which were frozen by two of China’s largest crypto exchanges in 2021. 

The court filing further noted,

“After months of failed attempts to unfreeze the accounts, Samuel Bankman-Fried discussed with others and ultimately agreed to and directed a multi-million-dollar bribe to seek to unfreeze the accounts.”

The new charge has added to the already existing 12 charges against the former executive. Earlier last month, Sam Bankman-Fried was hit with four new charges by the prosecutors, which included donating millions of Dollars to influence politicians in the US.

The bribery charge against the ex-CEO came a mere hours after the prosecutors and Bankman-Fried’s lawyers reached an agreement regarding his bail conditions.

Sam Bankman-Fried bail conditions set

After demanding an extension last month to file a proposal for additional bail conditions, Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyers finally reached an agreement with the US prosecutors on March 28. The revised conditions were agreed upon after it was suggested Bankman-Fried should be sent to jail until trial.

As per the new conditions, Sam Bankman-Fried would be granted a new mobile phone, albeit with no internet access, along with a laptop with limited functions. The conditions were applicable to the FTX founder’s parents as well, who signed affidavits assuring they would not be bringing prohibited devices into their home.

The former CEO of the collapsed crypto exchange is set to face the jury on October 2 when his criminal charges trial for stealing customer funds begins.

---