- Sam Bankman-Fried is seeking dismissal of 10 out of 13 criminal charges against him.
- His lawyers argue the government acted prematurely and overstepped their bounds.
- Other charges related to bank fraud and bribery are also being contested for dismissal.
Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the now-defunct FTX crypto exchange, has requested that a US judge dismiss 10 of the 13 criminal charges brought against him in connection with the platform’s failure.
In a filing submitted to the federal court in Manhattan on Monday, Bankman-Fried’s legal team contended that the US government had hastily filed the initial indictment against him on December 9, just weeks after FTX‘s insolvency, in what they described as a “typical rush to judgment.”
Bankman-Fried’s lawyers further stated in the filing that the government had acted prematurely by not allowing the typical civil and regulatory processes to take their course in handling the matter. They also accused the government of overstepping its bounds by attempting to transform these civil and regulatory concerns into federal criminal charges.
Bankman-Fried’s legal team also contended that a charge related to campaign finance must be dismissed since it was not listed in the surrender warrant that was signed by the Bahamian government for his extradition.
Additionally, they argued that the US government had added new charges against Bankman-Fried that went beyond the scope of the original indictment and were inappropriate. These charges alleged criminal behavior that was not included in the initial indictment.
Even if they are considered, the charges should be dismissed as legally flawed.
Meanwhile, Bankman-Fried’s legal team is seeking to have other charges dismissed as well, such as those related to bank fraud, unlicensed money transmitting, and bribery.
Moreover, his lawyers argued that the widespread market downturn in 2022 had affected several other cryptocurrency exchanges, and FTX was not the only major player that had faced difficulties due to the market crash. They added that many other exchanges had also been impacted by the market rout.
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