FTXSam Bankman-Fried (SBF), founder and former CEO of FTX, has filed a motion to dismiss up to 10 criminal charges against him ahead of his scheduled criminal trial in October. SBF’s legal team is seeking the dismissal of all charges apart from three counts of conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The move to dismiss the charges comes after additional charges were added after SBF’s extradition agreement was made, leading his legal team to argue that these charges violate the “Treaty’s rule of specialty provision”. This provision generally binds the requesting state (the US) to try the extradited offender (SBF) only for the offence for which they were extradited.
SBF was initially extradited from the Bahamas to the US to face eight criminal charges of alleged fraud and money laundering. However, his legal team is now arguing that four of the five additional charges added since February violate the rule of specialty provision. These four charges include conspiracy to commit bank fraud and other individual wire fraud charges related to his alleged actions at FTX and Alameda. The most recent charge, added on March 28, concerns the alleged $40 million bribery of a Chinese government official.
Crypto researcher Molly White suggested that at least part of the dismissal request may be due to the additional charges being added after SBF’s extradition agreement was made. The defence team’s argument that these charges violate the Treaty’s rule of specialty provision could potentially result in the dismissal of some of the charges.
Former FTX CEO’s defence team claims
In addition to these arguments, SBF’s lawyers are also seeking the dismissal of other charges relating to “conspiracy to defraud the United States” and charges relating to wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. They argue that there has been a failure to state an adequate offence in these counts.
The defence team also claims that the initial indictment sent via a Diplomatic Note fails to properly “specify the violation” relating to campaign financing laws, and it also doesn’t “reference any U.S. bank accounts, including any bank accounts affiliated with FTX or Alameda” relating to the wire fraud charges.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan is set to hear arguments on June 15 on the dismissal request, and prosecutors will have until May 29 to respond. Despite the rest of SBF’s inner circle all pleading guilty and agreeing to cooperate with prosecutors, SBF himself has pleaded not guilty to the charges laid against him.
SBF has been on house arrest in his parent’s home in Palo Alto since December. Recently, Judge Kaplan approved taps on SBF’s parents’ phones as a way of meeting bail conditions, despite SBF’s legal team requesting a revision.
The outcome of the dismissal request will have significant implications for SBF and FTX, with SBF’s fate and potential legal consequences hanging in the balance.
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