Originally published on: November 13, 2024
US prosecutors have taken legal action to seize cryptocurrency believed to be connected to bribes paid to Chinese officials by Sam Bankman-Fried, the co-founder of FTX.
In a recent lawsuit filed in a New York District Court, prosecutors claimed that a Binance account worth $8.6 million back in December 2023 had surged to $18.5 million due to market changes and was used to launder funds for bribes prior to FTX’s collapse in late 2022.
Chinese authorities reportedly froze Alameda Research’s accounts holding $1 billion in crypto in 2021. Bankman-Fried allegedly sent a $40 million Tether USDT bribe to a private wallet, resulting in the accounts being unfrozen.
Prosecutors stated that Bankman-Fried authorized additional payments totaling tens of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency to complete the bribe. The account in question had five deposit accounts linked to it, which prosecutors claimed were used to conceal the alleged bribe paid by Bankman-Fried.
Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research, testified that the total bribe amounted to around $150 million.
During Bankman-Fried’s trial on December 21, 2023, Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered the seizure of the account. The account reportedly still holds various cryptocurrencies including Solana, Cardano, XRP, Internet Computer, and Avalanche.
After facing a jury trial and being convicted of seven felony counts, Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison by Judge Kaplan. He originally faced additional charges related to bank fraud and foreign bribery conspiracy, but these were dropped.
Bankman-Fried’s lawyers have filed an appeal, arguing that he was not treated fairly during the trial.
Stay updated on crypto news and regulations by subscribing to the Law Decoded newsletter for insights on making informed decisions for your crypto ventures. Subscribe now to be in the know!
