Sam Bankman-Fried gets boost from Bahamas court in challenge to post-extradition charges

A Bahamas court on Tuesday temporarily barred the country’s government from agreeing to let US prosecutors pursue part of their criminal case against Sam Bankman-Fried, the indicted founder of now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

Last month, US federal prosecutors in Manhattan said they would drop five charges of foreign bribery, bank fraud and conspiracy against the one-time billionaire if the Caribbean nation did not agree to them.

Those charges were not in Bankman-Fried’s initial eight-count indictment last December, which focused on the collapse of FTX the previous month, but they were added after his extradition. FTX was based in the Bahamas.

The Bahamas Supreme Court said the country’s foreign affairs minister and attorney general could not consent to the new charges until Bankman-Fried had a formal chance to object.

Justice Loren Klein wrote that issues Bankman-Fried has raised had “a reasonable prospect of success.”

The decision could prolong uncertainty over whether Bankman-Fried’s scheduled Oct. 2 trial will cover all 13 charges he faces. Bankman-Fried, 31,has pleaded not guilty.


Sam Bankman-Fried leaving court in December.
Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyers are arguing that some charges should also be dismissed.
JUSTIN LANE/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

In papers filed late Monday in Manhattan federal court, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers said a sixth charge alleging US campaign finance violations should also be dismissed because the Bahamas did not consent to it.

His lawyers want the six charges dismissed, or tried separately from charges of stealing from customers and lying to investors and lenders.

“To proceed otherwise would cause significant prejudice to Mr. Bankman-Fried and should not be permitted,” the lawyers wrote.

A spokesman for the US Attorney’s office in Manhattan declined to comment on Tuesday.


Bankman-Fried reacts as District Judge Lewis Kaplan presides over a hearing on March 30 in this courtroom sketch.
Bankman-Fried sits in a hearing on March 30 in this courtroom sketch.
REUTERS

An extradition treaty between the United States and the Bahamas says a country must consent before defendants can be tried on charges brought after their extradition.

Bankman-Fried has also said some of the original charges rely on a fraud theory known as “right to control” that the US Supreme Court last month declared invalid.

Under that theory, a defendant can be convicted for depriving someone of economically valuable information, not just tangible property.

Prosecutors have said that theory does not apply in Bankman-Fried’s case.

US District Judge Lewis Kaplan is expected to hear arguments on Thursday.

For all the latest Business News Click Here 

 For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News

Read original article here

Denial of responsibility! TheDailyCheck is an automatic aggregator around the global media. All the content are available free on Internet. We have just arranged it in one platform for educational purpose only. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials on our website, please contact us by email – [email protected] The content will be deleted within 24 hours.