Prosecutors drop 5 charges against Sam Bankman-Fried to keep trial on schedule

Federal prosecutors opted to withdraw charges that were not part of SBF’s extradition request after the Bahamas raised concerns that the trial could be delayed.

Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s attempt to remove some charges from his charge sheet may backfire as prosecutors ask the court to “cut off” five new charges in the case.

New York federal prosecutors made the request in a June 15 letter to presiding Judge Lewis Kaplan.

The withdrawn charges will instead be levied in 2024 and adjudicated under separate trials, meaning the SBF will now have to face two cases.

Bahamas intervenes

Lawyers for SBF recently argued before U.S. and Bahamian judges that the five charges against the FTX founder were not included in the extradition request and therefore should not be part of the trial.

They filed a motion to dismiss the charges in the Bahamas on June 7.

The move prompted a Bahamian judge to issue an order on June 14 to review the case to determine whether U.S. prosecutors followed due process in bringing the new charges.

Prosecutors initially said they would not drop the charges if the Bahamas attorney general agreed. However, the country’s Supreme Court blocked the move, saying the SBF had the right to challenge the additional charges.

CUT FEES

Not wanting to take any chances, federal prosecutors chose to drop charges beyond the extradition request – including those related to bribery of foreign officials and illegal political donations.

Prosecutors said they opted to drop the new charges to avoid any delay in the proceedings because the Bahamas review could take a “lengthy” time.

They write:

“It now appears that litigation on this motion will take some time and may not be resolved until near or even after the trial date.”

The current trial, which will proceed as scheduled, will include only the initial eight charges laid out in the extradition agreement with the former billionaire.

However, SBF will still face charges at a later date, as the “severance package” will give the U.S. government enough time to resolve any issues with the Bahamas.