The US indictment against Sam Bankman-Fried, or SBF for short, is becoming increasingly extensive. SBF is the founder of the crypto speculation company Alameda Researchs, which went bankrupt in November, and of the corporate network of the crypto exchange FTX. In February, federal prosecutors added four criminal charges to their eight-count indictment filed in December against Bankman-Fried. As of Tuesday, the defendant also faces charges of bribing Chinese officials with $40 million worth of cryptocurrency.
Bribery in China is not only illegal in China, but also in the United States: The Federal Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is intended, among other things, to prevent Americans from bribery abroad. Legally, the public prosecutor’s office accuses SBF of conspiracy to commit bribery abroad: conspiracies are easier to prove because it is not important which member of a group of perpetrators actually carried out which aspect of the crime or is responsible for it. Only unlawful participation is decisive.
40 million are said to have stolen a billion
According to the indictment, this is a Chinese investigation into a suspected criminal in China who acted with Alameda Research. In the course of this investigation, the People’s Republic of China froze Alameda accounts with a total value of approximately one billion US dollars. SBF pushed for their release. When that failed legally, he is said to have initiated the bribery.
Apparently with success: After a partial payment in undisclosed cryptocurrency, the accounts were released, then a second payment was made – in total virtual coins with the equivalent of no less than 40 million dollars. Alameda Research then gambled away the billion iced out with risky crypto bets.
The Extended Charge
The four counts added in February allege SBF of money laundering, fraud and conspiracy to defraud derivatives trading FTX clients, conspiracy to operate a money transfer service illegally and conspiracy to commit bank fraud. The latter allegation is about the fact that bank accounts were opened under false allegations. In fact, the accounts were used to process deposits and withdrawals from customers of the crypto exchange FTX; FTX is said to have told the banks something else.
The accused is presumed innocent on all charges. At the time of going to press, no statement was known on the allegation of bribery; Bankman-Fried has always maintained his innocence. He is currently under house arrest at his parents’ home.
Regardless of the allegations of bribery, the responsible US federal district judge tightened the conditions for house arrest on Tuesday. SBF is only allowed to use a mobile phone without internet access and is not allowed to use his parents’ electronic devices. He is only allowed to open a certain list of websites with his computer. Any visitors will be frisked and are not allowed to bring any electronic devices.
The criminal proceedings are called USA v. Samuel Bankman-Fried and is pending in the United States District Court for Southern New York at Case 22-Cr-673.
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