FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was accused with ordering $40 million in bribery to one or more Chinese authorities to unfreeze assets linked to his cryptocurrency firm in a freshly revised indictment released Tuesday.
The charge of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act’s anti-bribery provisions brings the total number of charges against Bankman-Fried, who was arrested in the Bahamas in December and brought to the United States shortly thereafter, to 13. On Monday, the indictment was returned.
FTX filed for bankruptcy on November 11 after running out of money due to a cryptocurrency bank run. A $250 million personal recognizance bail has allowed him to reside with his parents in Palo Alto, California.
Before his firm failed, he is accused of defrauding investors of billions of dollars. He has pled not guilty.
U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan has scheduled an arraignment on the amended indictment for Thursday. On Tuesday, he also prohibited Bankman-Fried from communicating with current or former employees of FTX, the global cryptocurrency exchange he founded, or Alameda Research, a cryptocurrency hedge fund trading firm associated with FTX. The ruling also restricts Bankman-Fried to one laptop and phone and prohibits him from possessing additional cellphones, laptops, or “smart” internet-connected gadgets.
The alleged bribery arose from Alameda Research’s operations. According to the accusation, Chinese authorities blocked specific Suspect cryptocurrency trading accounts on two of China’s main cryptocurrency exchanges in early 2021. It was stated that the accounts had around $1 billion in cryptocurrencies.
