SBF Facing Bribery and Market Manipulation Charges – Woes Deepen

• SBF, the founder of the fallen FTX exchange, is accused of bribing a Chinese official with $40 million to gain access to trading accounts in China.
• He is currently under house arrest and faces additional charges including fraud, money laundering, conspiracy and market manipulation.
• His legal defense is being funded with funds borrowed from Alameda Research, which went bust along with the exchange.

SBF’s Woes Deepen

Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is accused of bribing a Chinese official with $40 million in order to gain access to trading accounts in China. The founder of the fallen FTX Exchange is currently under house arrest at his parents‘ home and faces additional charges of fraud, money laundering, conspiracy and market manipulation.

Chinese Official Bribe Allegations

The lawsuit against Samuel Bankman-Fried was filed last year in the United States, and new evidence shows that he authorized a $40 million bribe to at least one Chinese government official. There are also suspicions that he manipulated markets by selectively allocating trades to certain firms. This scandal has rocked the cryptocurrency industry as it was revealed that around $1.7 billion of client funds were missing from FTX when it went bust.

SBF Preparing for Trial

In order to fund his legal defense after declaring bankruptcy, SBF managed to come up with a $250 million bond. According to Forbes, SBF funded his legal defense with funds borrowed from Alameda Research – FTX’s sister company which also went bust along with the exchange – that had no financial supervision or oversight. His lineup of all-star lawyers are preparing for the trial starting in October 2023 where they will attempt to prove him innocent against all charges brought against him.

Denial From Chinese Officials

A representative of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied being aware of any attempted bribery relating to this case.

The Impact on Cryptocurrency Markets

At its peak FTX was valued at $32 billion and played an integral role in global financial markets before its abrupt downfall due to corruption allegations surrounding SBF and accusations that user funds were mishandled by him and other executives involved at Alameda Research. As such this case has major implications for future crypto industry regulations globally.