US prosecutors have dropped the charge against Samuel Bankman-Fried (SBF) for unlawful campaign contributions, as it was not included in the extradition agreement between the US and the Bahamas.
Bankman-Fried is still set to face trial in October for 12 other charges, including US government claims that he ran a years-long fraud at FTX.
According to Bloomberg, US prosecutors will drop the charge against Samuel Bankman-Fried for unlawful campaign contributions. In October, he faced 12 other charges for fraud at FTX.
US prosecutors have dropped a charge against Samuel Bankman-Fried for unlawful campaign contributions. Bankman-Fried had argued that the charge was not part of the extradition documents signed by the Bahamas. US Attorney Damian Williams stated that the government had decided not to proceed with the campaign contributions count in keeping with its treaty obligations with the Bahamas.
The decision comes as Bankman-Fried faces trial in October for 12 other charges, including US government claims that he ran a years-long fraud at FTX. The 31-year-old had previously contested the validity of five charges, arguing that they were not part of the extradition agreement that led to his return to the US in December. The government severed those charges from the October trial, splitting the case in two.
Furthermore, the former FTX CEO challenged prosecutors on another campaign finance charge, claiming that the Bahamian government had not included it in official documents that green-lit his extradition. Usually, a person can only be indicted for the offenses upon which they are extradited to the US.
However, prosecutors argued that they were still permitted to file fresh charges if they secured the consent of the Bahamas. However, according to Williamss letter, the Bahamas has since informed the government that they did not intend to extradite Bankman-Fried on the campaign contribution charge.
The case is US v. Bankman-Fried and is being heard in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York (Manhattan). The dropping of the charge is a significant development for Bankman-Fried, who has been under legal scrutiny for a while.