US DOJ to try Sam Bankman-Fried on original charges only.

The U.S. Department of Justice has decided to try only Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of FTX, on the eight charges brought against him in December 2022. Prosecutors stated that they agreed to try Bankman-Fried on a few charges, including wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering, after a court in the Bahamas blocked the local government from approving additional charges. Bankman-Fried currently faces 13 charges, but five of them were brought in February and March 2023. The defense team argued that the government of the Bahamas had to agree to the additional charges before Bankman-Fried could be tried since he was arrested in the Bahamas and extradited to the U.S. last year. On Tuesday, a court in the Bahamas blocked the government from agreeing to the additional charges until Bankman-Fried’s defense team had a chance to fight against that approval. Prosecutors have requested a trial date in the first quarter of 2024 for the additional charges. Bankman-Fried’s defense team filed additional motions to dismiss most of the other charges on various grounds, but a hearing is set for Thursday for oral arguments on the motions to dismiss.