Sam Bankman-Fried Paid $40 Million Bribe to a Chinese Government Official to Unfreeze $1 Billion in Cryptocurrency, New Indictment Alleges
- Federal prosecutors have charged Sam Bankman-Fried, 31, with bribing at least one Chinese government official.
- The indictment alleges he directed a $40 million cryptocurrency payment to unfreeze accounts affiliated with his hedge fund, Alameda Research.
- SBF previously pleaded not guilty to charges of defrauding investors
Sam Bankman-Fried paid a $40 million bribe to at least one Chinese government official to unfreeze a $1 billion worth of cryptocurrency, a new indictment claims today.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan charged Bankman-Fried on Tuesday with directing the payment in cryptocurrency in order to unfreeze accounts belonging to its hedge fund, Alameda Research, which were frozen by Chinese authorities in November 2021. The accounts contained more than $1 billion in cryptocurrency, the U.S. . prosecutors said.
Once those assets were unfrozen, the indictment says, Bankman-Fried authorized the transfer of tens of millions of dollars in additional cryptocurrency to complete the bribe.
The new 13 international bribery charges are piling pressure on the 31-year-old former billionaire, who previously pleaded not guilty to eight counts of defrauding investors by using their money to plug losses for Alameda.
Sam Bankman-Fried, 31, faces new charges of bribing a Chinese government official
He previously pleaded not guilty to charges of defrauding investors in the FTX crash
According to the new indictment, Bankman-Fried and his associates attempted “many ways” to unfreeze the accounts in November 2021.
But after both legal and personal efforts failed, Bankman-Fried accepted and directed the multimillion-dollar bribe “in favor of one or more Chinese government officials in order to influence and induce them” to unfreeze the accounts.
He then allegedly used the money to help fund Alameda’s failed deals, and managed to defraud clients and investors for another year before the cryptocurrency exchange crashed.
SBF was eventually forced to declare bankruptcy from FTX in November 2022 as concerns about missing funds led the bank to run.
He is now facing federal and civil charges from both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Following this new indictment, he was also charged with 13 counts of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which makes it illegal for American citizens to bribe foreign government officials to win business.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan scheduled a court hearing on Thursday after prosecutors asked Pinkman-Fried to stand trial in the new indictment.
Bankman-Fried has previously denied intentionally committing fraud, blaming sloppy accounting and poor oversight.
DailyMail.com has reached out to his attorney for comment.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs cannot be reached immediately after normal business hours in Beijing.
Bankman-Fried cryptocurrency exchange FTX collapsed in November 2021
The new indictment comes just a month after federal prosecutors accused Pinkman-Fried of masterminding an illegal donations scheme in an influence-buying campaign in Washington, DC.
But the alleged fraudster pleaded not guilty in January to criminal charges that he defrauded investors of his cryptocurrency exchange out of $1.8 billion.
He is now being held at his parents’ home in Palo Alto, California, on $250 million bail, ahead of his trial on October 2.
On Monday, his lawyers and plaintiffs reached a new agreement on modified bail terms, after Kaplan raised the possibility of Bankman Fried being sent to jail awaiting trial.
This came after prosecutors raised concerns that he may have been tampering with witnesses.
