Former CEO of virtual currency exchange 'FTX' faces up to 115 years in prison, but claims innocence on all eight criminal charges including money laundering

FTX, known as one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, went bankrupt in November 2022. Regarding the bankruptcy of FTX, it has been pointed out that it is a fraud by founder Sam Bankman Freed, and on December 12, 2022, the Bahamas police suspect Bankman Freed. was arrested . Suspect Bankman Freed has been extradited to the United States and is facing a criminal lawsuit seeking up to 115 years in prison.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried pleads not guilty | CNN Business
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/01/03/business/sam-bankman-fried-plea/index.html

Sam Bankman-Fried Pleads Not Guilty as Trial Is Set for October - WSJ
https://www.wsj.com/articles/sam-bankman-fried-pleads-not-guilty-to-fraud-and-other-offenses-11672774004

FTX is a US-based cryptocurrency exchange that is the second largest in the world after Binance. However, in November 2022, it filed for Article 11 of the Federal Bankruptcy Law and practically went bankrupt. After that, from the virtual currency-related media, etc., ``FTX was carrying out opaque fund transfers with the virtual currency hedge fund ' Alameda Research ,' which was also founded by Bankman Freed,' and ``Alameda Research FTX's fraudulent behavior was pointed out one after another, such as 'I used my relationship with FTX to conduct insider trading.'

The collapse of the virtual currency exchange 'FTX' is not an accident but a 'crime' - GIGAZINE

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Then, on December 23, 2022, about a month after the bankruptcy, Bankman-Freed was arrested by the Bahamas police, and the next day, the Southern District of New York Federal Attorney's Office indicted Bankman-Freed. . In addition, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has also approved prosecutions for securities law violations on grounds such as 'telegraphic fraud,' 'telegraphic fraud conspiracy,' 'securities fraud,' 'securities fraud conspiracy,' and 'money laundering.'

Bahamian police arrest Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of major bankrupt virtual currency exchange FTX - GIGAZINE

by Bybit

Suspect Bankman Freed has been released on bail of $ 250 million (about 33 billion yen) and is under house arrest at his home in California at the time of writing the article. Bankman Freed's first trial is scheduled for October 2, 2023, and could result in up to 115 years in prison if found guilty on all eight criminal charges.

On the other hand, Bankman Freed has denied all eight criminal charges and claims innocence. In response, John Ray III, who became CEO of FTX after the resignation of Bankman-Fried, said, 'FTX's client assets are not separated from Alameda Research's assets, and Alameda Research owns client assets. We have submitted a report stating that we used margin trading and suffered a huge loss,” and acknowledged FTX’s problematic behavior.