Sam Bankman-Fried will no longer serve a second trial after prosecutors deemed it would be unnecessary and would delay a ‘timely and just resolution of the case’.
The disgraced former FTX CEO was found guilty on all charges after his month-long trial last October and was expected to stand a second trial in March on different charges relating to bribery and conspiracy to commit bank fraud amongst others.
However, SBF will no longer face a second trial after a letter was sent to the last trials Judge Lewis Kaplan by the US government detailing that the Bahamas, who extradited the FTX Founder upon the collapse of the crypto exchange, are yet to consent with him facing the additional charges in court, according to treaty obligations.
The letter also cites that much of the prosecution’s evidence had already been used in the first trial back in October.
The letter states: “Proceeding with sentencing in March 2024 without the delay that would be caused by a second trial would advance the public’s interest in a timely and just resolution of the case.”
SBF is still expected to face sentencing from his first trial in March where he was found guilty on multiple charges of fraud and wire fraud, with a maximum prison sentence of up to 115 years.
The unanimous verdict last November was one of the US’ most notorious guilty fraud verdicts, with US Attorney Damian Williams describing SBF and the FTX collapse as “one of the biggest financial frauds in American history”.
Despite the guilty verdict, defence attorney Mark Cohen revealed that they will contest the decision as SBF maintains his innocence and will “vigorously fight the charges”.
Payment Expert attended a panel discussion event titled ‘Downfall of the Crypto King’ hosted by GBG, in which journalists and FTX fraud victims discussed the impact of the FTX collapse and took a closer look into the psyche of SBF.
You can read part one of the feature series, ‘Behind the mind of SBF: how he cultivated the perfect facade’, here
You can read part two of the feature series, ‘Behind the mind of SBF: the extraordinary psychodrama of the NY trial’, here
You can read part three of the feature series, ‘Behind the mind of SBF: what have we learned from misplaced trust’, here
