Sam Bankman-Fried, a former CEO of FTX, asks the court to drop his accusations

Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX, is currently facing a number of criminal accusations related to money laundering, securities fraud, commodities fraud, and other alleged financial crimes. However, he is now asking the court to drop up to 10 of these accusations before his trial begins in October.

In court filings submitted on May 8th, SBF’s legal team requested that all but three of the allegations be dismissed. These three include conspiracy to commit money laundering, securities fraud, and conspiracy to commit commodities fraud. The other charges, which his lawyers are requesting to be dropped, include bank fraud conspiracy, wire fraud, and conspiracy to defraud the United States.

The crypto researcher, Molly White, suggests that the reason for the request to drop some of the charges is because additional charges were added after Bankman-Fried’s extradition agreement was made. Bankman-Fried was initially extradited from the Bahamas to the U.S. to face eight criminal charges related to alleged money laundering and fraud. However, his legal team is arguing that the four of the five new charges added since February “violates the Treaty’s rule of specialty provision.”

The four new counts include bank fraud conspiracy and various individual wire fraud charges stemming from his alleged acts at FTX and Alameda. The most recent allegation, filed on March 28, is for allegedly bribing a Chinese government official for $40 million.

SBF has pled not guilty to the accusations brought against him, despite the fact that his former colleagues have all pleaded guilty and agreed to assist with authorities. Since December, he has been under house arrest at his parents’ home in Palo Alto.

The dismissal motion will be heard by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan on June 15th, with prosecutors having until May 29th to respond. It remains to be seen whether the court will grant SBF’s request to drop some of the charges against him.

SBF is a prominent figure in the cryptocurrency world, having founded FTX in 2019. The exchange has since become one of the largest and most successful in the industry, with a reported valuation of $18 billion earlier this year. Despite the legal troubles, SBF remains active in the cryptocurrency space, having recently donated $5.2 million to charity through his Giving Pledge campaign.

In conclusion, the legal battle between SBF and the U.S. authorities continues, with the former CEO now seeking to have some of the criminal accusations against him dropped. The outcome of the dismissal motion will likely have a significant impact on the upcoming trial, which is set to begin in October.