He is increasingly in turmoil. US justice has added new charges against Samuel Bankman-Fried, the founder of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, including bank fraud and operating an unlicensed money transmitter.
The indictment issued Thursday by a federal court in the Southern District of New York now has 12 counts, compared to eight in the previous document. It repeats the original charges, including wire fraud and money laundering.
Sam Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to all charges in early January.
The fallen cryptocurrency star is currently under house arrest at his parents’ home in California pending his trial in October, which is expected to shed light on his role in the spectacular bankruptcy of FTX and the brokerage and investment firm Alameda. .
“Illegal” political contributions
The New York court notably accuses “SBF” of having lied to a financial institution to open a bank account by claiming that this account would be used to carry out trading and market-making operations while it was used to receive and transfer funds from FTX clients.
The new indictment also goes into detail about the political contributions of Sam Bankman-Fried qualified as “illegal” and intended “to obtain influence within the two parties”.
The former executive made generous donations “to improve his personal position in Washington, D.C., improve FTX’s status, and curry favor with candidates who might help him pass laws favorable to FTX or the US.” Sam Bankman-Fried’s personal agenda, including laws regarding regulatory oversight of FTX and the cryptocurrency industry, the document reads.
“SBF” is accused of having gone through nominees to make these contributions. One of them was reportedly chosen to donate at least $1 million to a group advocating for LGBT rights and supporting a congressional candidate.
Another would have made donations for Republican candidates. This fraudulent conduct had the effect of “compromising and hindering” the proper functioning of the United States Financial Election Commission (FEC), the court charged.