Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the founder of FTX Group, has filed two pre-trial memorandums requesting the dismissal of several charges against him. The motion filed by SBF’s legal team sought to dismiss charges of bribery, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, running an unlicensed money transmitter, and improper political contributions.
These pre-trial memorandums were filed after SBF’s lawyers spent countless hours brainstorming ways to ease a trial that could put him away for a long time. The FTX CEO’s antics almost caused his bail to be reversed, leading to his ban from video games and most of the internet. SBF voluntarily extradited himself from the Bahamas to the United States to face trial for certain offenses.
Voluntary Extradition Hinges on Dismissal of Certain Charges
SBF’s legal team is seeking the dismissal of the charges above, arguing that filing additional charges post-facto goes against US court precedent. The defense maintains that the plain terms of the Extradition Treaty require that the government obtains the express consent of the Bahamas to prosecute Mr. Bankman-Fried on any new charges brought after his extradition.
The motion to dismiss the charges above hinges on SBF’s voluntary extradition to the United States from the Bahamas. If SBF agreed to be extradited to face trial for certain offenses, his lawyers argue that any new charges filed against him after his extradition would go against the US court precedent.
The defense team also argues that silence cannot suffice for consent. Thus, the government must obtain the express consent of the Bahamas to prosecute SBF on any new charges brought after his extradition. The defense has claimed that the Bahamas has not consented to the new charges brought against SBF.
Reconciliation with Plea Deals by FTX Group Executives
The dismissal of these charges could significantly impact the trial set for the 2nd of October. However, the plea deals entered into by Gary Wang and Caroline Ellison, two FTX Group executives, could complicate the motion. Wang and Ellison’s plea deals provide prosecutors with ammunition to file new charges against SBF.
It remains unclear how the motion to dismiss the charges will be reconciled with the plea deals entered into by other FTX Group executives. The prosecution could file new charges against SBF, resulting in the accusations being removed from the upcoming trial and filed again in another that would follow shortly after.