The founder of the cryptocurrency platform FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, pleaded Tuesday in a federal court in New York not guilty of the multiple crimes attributed to him by the United States authorities after the bankruptcy of his company, which became valued at 32,000 million dollars, according to local media.
The young businessman (known by his initials, SBF) appeared in person before the judge, amid a large media presence, to respond to the eight charges against him by the Attorney for the Southern District of New York, including fraud. email, money laundering, and violation of political campaign finance laws.
SBF was extradited to New York last month from the Bahamas, the company's headquarters and where he resided, but he has remained on probation since December 22 at his parents' home in Palo Alto (California, USA) after agree to one of the highest bails in US history, at $250 million.
Samuel Bankman-Fried arrives at federal court in Manhattan, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2023, in New York. Seth Wenig / AP
The 30-year-old's attorney, Mark Cohen, announced his client's plea, saying: "He pleads not guilty to all charges."
Before their arraignment, the Bankman-Fried lawyers sent a letter to the judge stating that the boy's parents had become the subject of “intense media scrutiny, harassment and threats, including communications in which they expressed the wish that they suffer physical harm.”
Gretchen Lowe, acting director of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Compliance Division, has put Bankman-Fried clients' losses at more than $8 billion.
Two associates of Sam Bankman-Fried pleaded guilty in December to wire fraud, among other crimes.
Former CEO of Alameda Research, a company founded by Bankman-Fried that was the investment arm of FTX, Carolyn Ellison, 28, and FTX co-founder Gary Wang, 29, pleaded guilty to criminal charges “in connection with his role in the fraud that contributed to the collapse” of the company, said New York Southern District Attorney Damian Williams.
The judge who handled the complaint against the founder of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, leaves the case
Dec 25, 202200:25
Shortly before Bankman-Fried's arraignment, Williams announced that he was launching a task force made up of senior prosecutors from his office to investigate and prosecute matters related to the FTX collapse.
He assured that the task force will also work to locate and recover the victims' assets.
With information from Efe and AP.
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/V6PAJ7OIKO4NO7NV7GCNE3UIMA.jpg)