US judge appears sceptical of Sam Bankman-Fried's push to dismiss charges

FTX founder is accused of stealing billions of dollars from customers

Sam Bankman-Fried arrives at Manhattan Federal Court in New York for a court appearance. Getty

A US judge on Thursday appeared sceptical of Sam Bankman-Fried's push to significantly cut back the government's criminal case, accusing the former billionaire of defrauding consumers of FTX, the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange he once ran from the Bahamas.

District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan expressed his concerns at a hearing in which Mr Bankman-Fried's lawyers sought to dismiss at least 11 of the 13 charges their client faces.

Mr Bankman-Fried, 31, pleaded not guilty in March to fraud, money laundering, campaign finance and conspiracy charges following his December extradition from the Bahamas, where FTX had been based before its November collapse.

At Thursday's hearing, Mr Kaplan declined to rule on prosecutors' request to schedule a second trial in early 2024 on five charges that Mr Bankman-Fried said required the Bahamas' consent, saying it was uncertain when the country might grant it.

The judge also said Mr Bankman-Fried appeared to lack standing to invoke an extradition treaty between the two countries to get those charges – including bank fraud and bribing Chinese officials – dismissed.

Mr Bankman-Fried's original eight-count indictment accused him of stealing billions of dollars from FTX customers to plug losses at his crypto-focused Alameda Research hedge fund, and of lying to investors and lenders.

The defendant's lawyers said some of those charges and a newer bank fraud charge should be dismissed because they rested on a theory that the US Supreme Court declared invalid last month.

Prosecutors added five new charges this year after Mr Bankman-Fried's December 2022 extradition from the Bahamas, in the wake of FTX's collapse.

In February, while Mr Bankman-Fried was living at his parents’ California house after being released on a $250 million bail package, prosecutors filed a superseding indictment charging him with four more offences.

A month later, it added another charge to the list, accusing Mr Bankman-Fried of bribing Chinese officials to free $40 million frozen on a crypto exchange.

Agencies contributed to this report