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<p class="is-style-lead">U.S. Presidential contender Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has voiced his shock and concern over the U.S. government’s decision to withdraw six charges against Sam Bankman-Fried, the embattled founder of crypto exchange FTX.</p>
<p>Presidential hopeful Kennedy Jr. took to X to share his views on the development, highlighting that charges against Bankman-Fried for allegedly donating $100 million in stolen customer funds to various politicians have been dropped.</p>
<p>He emphasized the lack of public surprise at this decision as indicative of a deeper problem of normalized corruption within the U.S. government.</p>
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   <p lang="en" dir="ltr">No one is even surprised. THAT is a bigger problem than the fraud itself. It shows how normalized corruption has become. <a href="https://t.co/g9QrScuCJx" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://t.co/g9QrScuCJx</a></p>— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) <a href="https://twitter.com/RobertKennedyJr/status/1741548290175312062?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">December 31, 2023</a>
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<p>Earlier last year, crypto.news reported on the U.S. government’s <a href="https://crypto.news/sam-bankman-fried-allegedly-diverted-ftx-investors-money-to-political-donations-through-straw-donors/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">campaign finance charges</a> against Bankman-Fried, alleging that he directed two former FTX executives to channel <a href="https://crypto.news/sbf-trial-day-6-ftx-paid-100m-in-chinese-bribes-to-unfreeze-1b-of-investigated-funds/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">over $100 million</a> to certain political candidates. This was supposedly done to bypass legal campaign limits and support pro-crypto industry politicians.</p>
<p>You might also like: <a href="https://crypto.news/ftx-saga-what-happened-to-ftx/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> FTX saga: what happened to FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried in 2023 </a></p>
<p>The indictment from Aug. 14 detailed how Bankman-Fried used his influence to lobby Congress and regulatory agencies for favorable crypto regulations and legislation.</p>
<p>United States prosecutors, led by U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams, have decided <a href="https://crypto.news/prosecutors-wont-pursue-second-trial-sam-bankman-fried/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">not to pursue several remaining charges</a> against Bankman-Fried, including foreign bribery, bank fraud, and unlawful political donations.</p>
<p>This decision was partly influenced by a dispute with the Bahamas over Bankman-Fried’s extradition and the fact that evidence for some charges had already been presented during his original trial. Bankman-Fried was <a href="https://crypto.news/ftx-founder-sam-bankman-fried-is-guilty-to-all-charges-crypto-community-reacts/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">found guilty</a> on all seven counts of fraud and conspiracy related to FTX and Alameda Research.</p>
<p>Prosecutors aim to proceed with sentencing in March 2024 without the delays of a second trial, citing the public interest in a timely and just resolution.</p>
<p>Consequently, some details might remain undisclosed, such as the specific role of Thai escorts in Alameda’s strategy to unlock its Chinese accounts. This led to Alameda bribing Chinese government officials, a <a href="https://crypto.news/sbf-trial-day-7-ftx-lost-100m-in-terra-ust-crash/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">revelation made in the testimony of Caroline Ellison</a>, the former CEO of Alameda and a key witness in the case.</p>
<p>The crypto community is particularly concerned about the dropped charge of unlawful political donations, given Bankman-Fried’s substantial donations to politicians across the political spectrum.</p>
<p>On Dec. 30, Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer, Paul Grewal, also took to X to label the decision a “miscarriage of justice,” emphasizing the importance of publicly airing campaign finance charges.</p>
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   <p lang="en" dir="ltr">That said, I think this is a miscarriage of justice. The public interest in a public airing of charges almost always matters. Campaign finance charges are at the very top of this list. What politicians and others knew what and when are critical questions that deserve answers.</p>— paulgrewal.eth (@iampaulgrewal) <a href="https://twitter.com/iampaulgrewal/status/1740951271060971599?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">December 30, 2023</a>
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<p>Bankman-Fried is currently slated to receive his sentencing on March 28, 2024.</p>
<p>Read more: <a href="https://crypto.news/ftx-case-unwinnable-says-sam-bankman-frieds-lawyer/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> FTX case unwinnable, says Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyer </a></p>

RFK Jr. voices corruption in US decision to drop charges against SBF

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