The list of indictments against disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried got longer again on Tuesday morning.
US prosecutors unsealed an indictment accusing Bankman-Fried of paying a $40 million bribe to Chinese officials in order to unfreeze accounts belonging to his hedge fund Alameda.
The alleged payment was sent to a private wallet from Alameda’s main trading account to restore accounts that held more than $1 billion in cryptocurrency.
The new bribery charge brings the number of indictments to 13. Bankman-Fried is expected to be arraigned on Thursday before US District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan federal court.
In a separate move, Kaplan approved modifications to Bankman-Fried's $250 million bail package that are designed to prevent him from tampering with witnesses. The former billionaire is currently under house arrest at his parents’ home in Palo Alto, California ahead of his scheduled October 2 trial.
Prosecutors said the Alameda accounts had been frozen as part of an investigation into an unnamed Alameda counterparty and that Bankman-Fried's earlier efforts to lobby Chinese officials to lift the freeze had failed.
They also alleged that Bankman-Fried approved a transfer of tens of millions worth of more cryptocurrency in order to "complete" the bribe.
Prosecutors previously accused Bankman-Fried of stealing billions in customer funds to stem losses at Alameda as well as operating an illegal campaign donation scheme in Washington DC.
Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to eight of the 13 counts he faces, and he is yet to be arraigned on the campaign finance or bribery conspiracy charges.
Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com
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