Sam Bankman-Fried, the former chief executive officer (CEO) of FTX, has pleaded not guilty to eight charges of fraud related to the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange.
Bankman-Fried, who two months ago was a crypto billionaire, was indicted on charges of wire fraud and securities fraud, as well as money laundering, following the $8 billion U.S. collapse of FTX in November of last year.
His trial is now scheduled to begin in New York City on October 2, 2023. Bankman-Fried has been released from police custody on a $250 million U.S. bond while he awaits trial.
Lawyers have been fighting in bankruptcy court for weeks over billions of dollars of missing cryptocurrency. FTX has, by some estimates, more than one million creditors.
Bankman-Fried returned to the U.S. from the Bahamas where he had been living on December 21, and the next day was released on a $250 million recognizance bond secured by his parent’s home in California.
The U.S. attorney’s office has accused Bankman-Fried of using $8 billion U.S. worth of customer assets for extravagant real estate purchases and vanity projects, including stadium naming rights.
Prosecutors are being assisted by two of Bankman-Fried’s closest allies, Caroline Ellison, former CEO of hedge fund Alameda Research, and Gary Wang, who co-founded FTX with Bankman-Fried.
