SBF’s defense lawyers insist regulatory issues are not federal crimes

Defense lawyers for Sam Bankman-Fried allege that U.S. authorities overstepped the people successful prosecuting the erstwhile FTX CEO, arguing that regulatory infractions should not beryllium prosecuted arsenic national crimes.

SBF lawyers accidental charges are not national crimes

Bankman-Fried was arrested successful the Bahamas connected Dec. 12, 2022, pursuing the illness of FTX astir 4 weeks prior. Prosecutors charged the erstwhile CEO with eight counts, including conspiracy to perpetrate wealth laundering, ligament fraud connected customers and lenders, commodities and information fraud, and abstracted ligament fraud connected customers and lenders.

As the case unfolded and much details emerged, helium was aboriginal charged with an further 5 national indictments, including bribing Chinese officials and violating run concern laws regarding governmental donations, bringing the full charges against him to thirteen.

However, national tribunal papers filed connected May 29 amusement Bankman-Fried’s defence lawyers sought to disregard the lawsuit due to the fact that their client’s actions were regulatory issues alternatively than national crimes, per the Washington Post.

Furthermore, Bankman-Fried’s squad argued that the archetypal 8 charges filed successful December 2022 were “too vague and non-specific” to represent going to proceedings and that the aboriginal further charges were void due to the fact that the charges were not approved by the Bahamas astatine the clip of extradition.

Prosecutors telephone defence motions meritless

In a astir 100-page filing, prosecutors called the defence team’s motions “meritless,” maintaining that the charges against him are national crimes.

“The charges way the applicable statutes and the defendant’s alleged misconduct falls wrong the heartland of what these statutes prohibit.”

A separate tribunal filing by prosecutors addressed the defence team’s constituent connected extradition rules baring the aboriginal charges. It stated that the pact statement betwixt the U.S. and the Bahamas does not bounds caller offenses aft extradition.

“The pact expressly reflects lone an statement betwixt the 2 countries that the extradited idiosyncratic volition not beryllium “detained, tried, oregon punished” without the consent of the enforcement authorization of the extraditing country.”

As such, according to the pact statement betwixt the 2 countries, “new charges cannot interruption the regularisation of specialty.”

The proceedings is expected to instrumentality spot successful the fall.

The station SBF’s defence lawyers importune regulatory issues are not national crimes appeared archetypal connected CryptoSlate.