Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, faces up to 50 years in prison and an $11 billion fine after being convicted of fraud and money laundering .
The fall of Sam Bankman-Fried seems to have no end in sight. The founder of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX saw his star fade after his company went bankrupt and sparked a global scandal amid fraud and embezzlement.
If the man was convicted on November 2, 2023 on 7 counts by a New York jury, we did not yet know the sentence imposed on the ex-businessman nor the amount of his fine. This is now done, as the Manhattan prosecutor has just made public these claims and the sanctions required, and they are commensurate with the crimes committed by the former cryptocurrency star.
Between 40 and 50 years in prison required by the prosecutor
Prosecutor Damian Williams therefore requested a sentence of between 40 and 50 years in prison for Sam Bankman-Fried, accompanied by a fine of 11 billion dollars. Although this sum may seem gigantic, it is considered by the prosecutor as “ particularly careful », while 1 billion dollars have already been seized by the courts.
Sam Bankman-Fried’s defense had for its part requested a sentence of 6 years of imprisonment, but the Manhattan prosecutor was not sensitive to the lawyers’ arguments, considering on the contrary that their client had ” committed one of the largest financial frauds in American history “.
A second trial, concerning 5 other charges, including criminal conspiracy to bribe a foreign agent and make donations to politicians, should have been held this Monday, but prosecutor Williams preferred not to not follow up. The new charges are in fact excluded from the extradition agreement signed with the Bahamas, where Bankman-Fried was at the time of his arrest. In addition, the American authorities want to quickly put an end to this matter.
Final verdict delivered on March 28
In this unprecedented case, Sam Bankman-Fried is found guilty of using funds held by FTX clients for high-risk investments or real estate purchases with another of his companies, Alameda Research. Borrowings from FTX represent a total sum of 14 billion euros.
With this money, Sam Bankman-Fried also made large donations to political parties around the world. He thus gave $150 million to Joe Biden’s campaign as well as an equivalent sum to the Chinese authorities as bribes to recover FTX’s assets in China.
The final verdict will be rendered by federal judge Lewis Kaplan on March 28, 2024. Even if the latter does not follow the prosecutor’s recommendations, we can safely say that Sam Bankman-Fried is well on his way to spending many years behind bars.
Source : Cryptoast
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