Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and former chief executive of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, is facing new charges for bribery, according to an indictment on March 28.
It claims Bankman-Fried in 2021 transferred over $40 million worth of cryptocurrency to Chinese government officials. The founder allegedly made the transfer to “influence and induce them to unfreeze the accounts” of Alameda Research, which contained over $1 billion in cryptocurrency that Beijing had frozen, according to the document.
The indictment contains 12 charges that Bankman-Fried previously was facing, plus the additional one for conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, bringing the new tally to a 13-count indictment.
Bankman-Fried’s lawyer didn’t immediately respond to a MarketWatch request for comment.
Bankman-Fried has been restricted from using messaging apps, but prosecutors and Bankman-Fried’s attorneys have asked U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan to approve a new set of proposed restrictions that would limit his access to electronic devices and the internet.
He has pleaded not guilty to eight counts over the collapse of FTX and is currently under house arrest with his parents in Palo Alto, Calif.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan set a new hearing for Thursday.
