US Justice Department drops political criminal charges against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried

The US Department of Justice notified Judge Kaplan about their decision to waive one of the eight charges against FTX founder Sam Bankman Fried.
The decision was in obligation to a treaty with the Bahamas, which did not intend to extradite Sam Bankman-Fried until this particular charge was dropped.
The former FTX CEO is already facing the probability of going back to jail for leaking private documents and intimidating witnesses.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is set to face multiple criminal charges in two months from now. But the disgraced former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the bankrupt exchange should be thanking his lucky stars as he has been saved from a lengthier sentence thanks to United States' legal obligations.

Sam Bankman-Fried saved from one criminal charge

Sam Bankman-Fried can breathe a sigh of relief as the United States Department of Justice has decided to drop the political campaign criminal charges against him. The federal agency made the decision after the Bahamas denied Sam Bankman-Fried’s extradition on the campaign contributions count. The DoJ, in line with the same, informed Judge Kaplan of their intention to waive the charges.

Since the United States government has a treaty with the Bahamas government, they are obliged to drop the charges. Consequently, during the trial, set to begin in October, the campaign contribution count will not be included in the eight criminal charges against Sam Bankman-Fried.

US Department of Justice notice to Judge Kaplan

The political campaign charge being withdrawn by the DoJ was placed on Sam Bankman-Fried after revelations the FTX executive made a $93 million donation to US politicians. These funds were among the stolen customer deposits that were also used by Sam Bankman-Fried for saving sister company Alameda Research.

The government's treaty obligations have emerged favorably for Sam Bankman-Fried for the second time since his arrest. Back in December 2022, the former FTX CEO was saved from an additional five charges, including bank fraud and bribery, as they were blocked by a court in the Bahamas.

However, Sam Bankman-Fried is still facing the probability of being sent back to jail, according to a court hearing from this week. Assistant US Attorney Danielle Sassoon requested the remand and revocation of the FTX executive's $250 million bail.

The reason stated by Sassoon was that Sam Bankman-Fried seemingly used his freedom to intimidate Caroline Ellison by leaking her private documents to a New York Times reporter, making over 100 phone calls.

The hearing on the revocation of the bail is scheduled for Friday, July 28.

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