- His lawyers filed motions to dismiss all charges of wire fraud
- They claim FTX was not obligated to register as a money transfer service
Sam Bankman-Fried has filed pretrial motions to drop most of the charges against him, CoinDesk reported. The founder and former CEO of FTX will face trial this fall.
His lawyers filed motions to dismiss charges of wire fraud on FTX users, conspiring to commit wire fraud on FTX users, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud on Alameda Research lenders, and conspiracy to commit bank fraud. They claim the prosecution didn’t “state an offense for failure to allege a valid property right.”
They also want to drop charges related to unlicensed money transfer operation, illegal political contribution and bribery.
No objection to securities fraud and money laundering charges
Bankman-Fried's lawyers did not file to dismiss charges of committing securities fraud, conspiring to commit securities fraud, or conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The plaintiff’s main attorney, Mark Cohen, forewarned of the motions to dismiss the charges during an indictment, saying that SBF had not recognized that he could be tried on the charges pressed after he was extradited from the Bahamas. Sam Bankman-Fried had pleaded "not guilty" to the remaining charges pressed across earlier indictments.
Legal issues with the extradition
The former FTX CEO’s lawyers wrote that he had agreed to be extradited based on a list of charges, but some charges were not on the list, but were asserted later. The Bahamas had to consent to the charges after he was extradited, which they couldn’t, because they needed additional information.
Therefore, these charges are void under the terms of the extradition treaty between the US and the Bahamas.
Further arguments to dismiss some of the charges against Bankman-Fried include that FTX was not obligated to register as a money transfer service and that the exchange was based outside the US, meaning some of the laws he is being accused of violating don't apply.
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