Bahamas Supreme Court Allows Bankman-Fried to Challenge Extra DOJ Charges
The Supreme Court of the Bahamas has granted FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried the ability to challenge new charges levied against him by US prosecutors.
The charges, which include bank fraud and bribery in addition to the original charges of wire fraud and money laundering, were added after Bankman-Fried's crypto exchange FTX collapsed last year.
The reason given for why some charges could be dropped 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 his 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.
“Leave is granted to the claimant to commence proceedings for judicial review,” Bahamas Supreme Court Judge Loren Klein said in the ruling on Tuesday.
Klein added that the Bahamian government cannot add additional offenses until the legal process has concluded.
The Bahamas government had previously argued the issue of consenting to the US request was a mere matter between sovereign states. Klein also added that the review should take place “in an expedited manner,” though said he didn’t want to pre-empt its findings.
In a separate filing, Bankman-Fried’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, said he “intends to file an application for judicial review as directed by the Supreme Court and to continue pursuing his legal rights in The Bahamas.”
Last month, it was reported that the US Justice Department may drop some of the
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