Prosecutors have indicated their intention not to conduct a second trial against Sam Bankman-Fried. They explained their decision in a letter to the Manhattan federal court
Prosecutors do not intend to conduct a second trial against Sam Bankman-Fried
Last November, the cryptocurrency ecosystem lived to the rhythm of the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the deposed CEO of exchange FTX.
Following deliberations, he was found guilty on all 7 counts, and will now have to wait until March 28 to find out what sentence he will receive, which could amount to several decades behind bars.
Nevertheless, 6 charges were dropped from the original trial, including operating an exchange without the appropriate licenses and campaign finance violations.
These elements suggested that a second trial would take place, but the US prosecutors in charge of the case ruled out this possibility in a letter sent to the Manhattan federal court on Friday evening, according to Reuters. According to the document, “the strong public interest” in a speedy resolution of the case would outweigh “the benefits of a second trial”.
What’s more, the Bahamas, from where SBF was extradited a year ago, has yet to agree to a trial on the aforementioned still unresolved charges, thus helping to keep the issue alive.
For their part, the prosecutors believe that the evidence likely to be presented during a new judicial circuit has already been presented during the first trial. What’s more, a second verdict would have no significant impact on the length of imprisonment the accused will face:
“They also stated that a second trial would not affect the length of Bankman-Fried’s prison sentence under the recommended federal guidelines, because [Judge, ed. note] Kaplan could consider Bankman-Fried’s entire course of conduct when sentencing him on the counts for which he was convicted. “
However, SBF isn’t done with justice, as he is expected to appeal the decision to be handed down on March 24, despite having refused to take full responsibility for his actions throughout the first trial.
At his level, Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s General Counsel, called the decision a miscarriage of justice, given what the public could have learned vis-à-vis the politicians whose campaigns were funded:
Dropping this on a Friday night before a holiday only fuels public cynics about the politics of all this. Damn shame. /end
– paulgrewal.eth (@iampaulgrewal) December 30, 2023
