Former FTX CEO SBF Pleads Not Guilty of Bribing Chinese Authorities

• Bribery of a public official is punishable by up to 15 years in federal prison.
• The trial for SBF is set to begin on October 2.

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) pleaded not guilty on Thursday to additional charges of conspiracy to violate campaign finance regulations and bribe Chinese authorities. 

Earlier, the 31-year-old crypto tycoon pleaded not guilty to eight charges of fraud and conspiracy through his attorney Mark Cohen, in which he is accused of embezzling billions of dollars from FTX customers to pay for losses at his hedge fund, Alameda Research.

Cohen said that he planned to challenge the new claims in light of Bankman-Fried’s extradition from the Bahamas, where he had been held in December and where FTX has its headquarters. The fresh allegations further burden Bankman-Fried already under severe stress. 

Decades in Prison If Found Guilty

The trial for SBF is set to begin on October 2, and if he is found guilty, he faces decades in prison. Bribery of a public official is punishable by up to 15 years in federal prison and a fine of up to three times the amount of the bribe, according to U.S. law. At Thursday’s hearing, federal prosecutors also gave an update on their investigation into seven of Bankman-Fried’s electronic devices.

Prosecutors told the court that the procedure was taking longer than expected because of the massive amount of data being processed. Over 6 million pages of paperwork have been generated so far in the probe into the subject.

Bankman-Fried is now under house arrest with his parents in Palo Alto, California, after making a staggering $250 million bail. In order to prevent the defendant, SBF, from influencing witnesses, Judge Kaplan approved new bail terms for the defendant earlier this week.

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