New York (CNN) Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the failed cryptocurrency trading platform FTX, has pleaded not guilty to five new federal fraud and conspiracy charges, including one count of conspiring to bribe government officials. Chinese government.
An attorney for Bankman-Fried entered the plea on behalf of his client, who sat next to him in court in New York on Thursday. He previously pleaded not guilty to eight other charges stemming from what prosecutors described as one of the largest financial frauds in US history.
Earlier this week, federal prosecutors tacked on a 13th criminal case against Bankman-Fried, accusing him of bribing “one or more” Chinese government officials with $40 million worth of cryptocurrency.
In the latest indictment, prosecutors allege that Bankman-Fried sought to pay Chinese officials to unfreeze accounts belonging to her hedge fund, Alameda Research. The accounts, which were frozen by the Chinese government, contained more than $1 billion worth of digital assets, prosecutors said.
The accounts were released after payments were transferred from Alameda’s main trading account to a private cryptocurrency wallet, according to the indictment.
The death of FTX
Prosecutors allege that Bankman-Fried stole FTX customer deposits to fund risky bets at his hedge fund, Alameda Research, and to funnel contributions to American politicians.
FTX was one of the busiest and largest platforms for trading digital assets before it collapsed in November.
The 31-year-old Bankman-Fried is out of jail on $250 million bond, awaiting trial under house arrest at her parents’ home in Palo Alto, California. Bankman-Fried, whose meteoric rise and sudden fall late last year shocked the crypto community, previously acknowledged mismanagement of his business but denied involvement in fraud.
Three of Bankman-Fried’s former business partners – Gary Wang, Caroline Ellison and Nishad Singh – have pleaded guilty to multiple charges and are cooperating with investigators.
If convicted on all charges, he could face more than 155 years in prison. A trial is scheduled for October.
– CNN’s Allison Morrow contributed reporting.
