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US prosecutors on Tuesday announced a new indictment against Sam Bankman-Fried, accusing the founder of now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX of conspiring to bribe Chinese government officials with a $40 million payment.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan charged Bankman-Fried with directing the payments to free accounts from the hedge fund, Alameda Research, that Chinese authorities had frozen. The account held more than $1 billion in US cryptocurrency, US prosecutors said.
The account was unfrozen after bribe payments were transferred around November 2021 from Alameda’s main trading account to a private cryptocurrency wallet, according to the new indictment.
After the account was unfrozen, Bankman-Fried authorized the transfer of tens of millions of dollars of additional cryptocurrency to complete the bribes, prosecutors said.
The new allegations add to the pressure on the 31-year-old former billionaire, who previously pleaded not guilty to eight counts over the collapse of FTX. Prosecutors say Bankman-Fried stole billions of dollars in customer funds to plug losses in Alameda.
Deny him stealing the money
An attorney for Bankman-Fried did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Bankman-Fried admitted to inadequate risk management at FTX, but denied stealing the money.
China’s foreign ministry could not immediately be reached after normal business hours in Beijing.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan scheduled a hearing for Thursday after prosecutors asked Bankman-Fried to be charged in the new, 13-count indictment.
Prosecutors Last month opened four new counts against Bankman-Fried, accusing him of orchestrating an illegal campaign donation plan to buy influence in Washington, DC He has not yet been arraigned on new charges.
Confined to his parents’ house
The new count accuses Bankman-Fried of conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), which makes it illegal for US citizens to bribe foreign government officials to win business.
Bankman-Fried is currently being held at her parents’ home in Palo Alto, California, on $250 million bail ahead of her Oct. 2 trial.
On Monday, her lawyers and prosecutors reached a new agreement on modified bail conditions, after Kaplan raised the prospect of sending Bankman-Fried to jail pending trial. This comes after prosecutors became concerned that he might tamper with witnesses.
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