NASSAU, BAHAMAS — US prosecutors say they are ready for trial on the eight charges in the initial indictment against FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
The development comes as a local Supreme Court judge has issued an injunction preventing the government from agreeing to a US request to try Bankman-Fried for additional offenses that were not included in the original indictment and were a basis for his extradition.
According to multiple US media reports, prosecutors with the US Department of Justice in a June 14 letter to district judge Lewis Kaplan said they would proceed to try Bankman-Fried on the eight charges they levied against him in December 2022.
The judge must now make a decision on the proposal by prosecutors to sever five of the 13 charges against Bankman-Fried.
US prosecutors told the judge on Thursday that they were uncertain when The Bahamas would decide whether to consent to the new charges, and that severing those counts would be appropriate given the developments.
Last month, US federal prosecutors had proposed dropping five charges of bribery, bank fraud, and conspiracy against Bankman-Fried if The Bahamas did not agree to them. These charges were not included in Bankman-Fried’s initial indictment in December.
Bankman-Fried’s defense team has asserted that the US government breached the extradition treaty with the Bahamas by filing additional charges against him months after his initial extradition. The defense attorneys argue that the charges, including allegations of bank fraud and bribery, should be dismissed.
In December 2022, Bankman-Fried was charged in connection with his management of the failed crypto exchange FTX, which suffered a liquidity crisis and subsequent bankruptcy. Prosecutors allege that Bankman-Fried commingled customer funds and misled investors about the exchange’s risk management practices, leading to substantial losses for investors and customers. Bankman-Fried is scheduled to stand trial in October.
