Sam Bankman-Fried Cleared of Campaign Finance Charge, U.S. DOJ Confirms

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has informed a federal judge that it will not pursue a campaign finance charge against Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX. The decision came after consultations with The Bahamas regarding the inclusion of the charge in an extradition document from last year.

Initially, the DOJ indicted Bankman-Fried on eight counts in late 2022, and later added five additional charges. However, Bankman-Fried’s defense team argued that The Bahamas, where he was originally arrested, had to agree to the additional charges as per the terms of the U.S.’s extradition treaty with the nation. The DOJ was permitted by Judge Lewis Kaplan of the District Court for the Southern District of New York to separate those charges and set a trial date for March.

In a recent court filing, it was revealed that The Bahamas did not include the campaign finance violation, the eighth charge from the original indictment, in its extradition treaty with the U.S. Consequently, the DOJ will not proceed to trial on the campaign finance count, adhering to its treaty obligations with The Bahamas.

The announcement came after a hearing where Sam Bankman-Fried was alleged to have shared private documents with the New York Times in an attempt to discredit a former Alameda Research executive, Caroline Ellison. The DOJ had sought to remand Bankman-Fried into custody during the hearing, but Judge Kaplan deferred ruling on the matter, setting up a schedule for written submissions from both the prosecution and defense.

Currently, Bankman-Fried’s trial is scheduled for October 2. The DOJ’s letter did not specify whether the campaign finance charge would be included in the second trial scheduled for March.