SBF charged with bribing Chinese government officials with $40M SBF charged with bribing Chinese government officials with $40M
SBF reportedly bribed Chinese government officials with over $40 million to regain access Alameda's trading accounts worth over $1 billion.
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Updated: Jul. 21, 2023 at 2:31 pm UTC
MIT Bitcoin Club / CC BY 3.0 / Wikipedia. Remixed by CryptoSlate
Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the former CEO of FTX, has been charged with bribery in the U.S.
The latest court filing reviewed by CryptoSlate shows U.S. prosecutors charged SBF with violating anti-bribery laws. SBF reportedly authorized and directed a bribe of at least $40 million to one or more Chinese officials in order to unfreeze Alamedaโs trading accounts.
Chinese authorities froze Alamedaโs crypto trading accounts on two of Chinaโs largest exchanges in 2021. The court filing doesnโt name the exchanges but states that the accounts collectively contained over $1 billion worth of cryptocurrencies. The accounts were frozen as part of an ongoing investigation into one of Alamedaโs trading counterparts.
After months of unsuccessful attempts to unfreeze the accounts, SBF reportedly transferred around $40 million worth of cryptocurrencies from Alamedaโs main trading account to a private cryptocurrency wallet.
At the same time as the payment, the accounts were unfrozen โ which was followed by an additional transfer of tens of millions of dollars.
The indictment charges SBF with thirteen counts, including violating anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The filing calls for the arrangement of a court hearing so SBF can be arraigned on the new indictment.
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FTX
FTX is a defunct cryptocurrency exchange, currently in bankruptcy proceedings, that was founded by Sam Bankman-Fried and Zixiao “Gary” Wang in May 2019.
Sam Bankman-Fried is the former CEO, and co-founder of defunct crypto exchange FTX and Alameda Research.