The U.S. Justice Department Awaits Bahamas Response Regarding New Charges Against Sam Bankman-Fried
The charges that could be dropped include
those related to bank fraud, operating an unlicensed money transmitting service,
and a case of bribery of a Chinese official, court documents filed
on Monday shows.
The reason given for why some charges could be dropped
if Bahamas objects to them is that they could violate the terms of
Bankman-Fried’s extradition since they were not included in the original indictment
that served as the legal basis for Bankman-Fried’s extradition
to the US.
The former FTX boss was arrested in the
Bahamas in December of 2022, and shortly after extradited to the
United States under a special agreement between the two countries.
According to the agreement, individuals who are extradited
can only be tried and punished for crimes that the extraditing country – in this case the
Bahamas – has agreed to.
For the time being,
US federal prosecutors are still waiting to hear
from Bahamian authorities on whether they can get a waiver from the rule in order
to try Bankman-Fried on the charges that have been brought
into the case after his extradition.
