EX FTX Executive överväger en överenskommelse med åklagare

• Vissa FTX-chefer ska enligt uppgift samarbeta med åklagare i fallet mot Bankman-Fried.
• Bankman-Fried kommer att ställas inför rätta för sju anklagelser i oktober, medan en andra rättegång är planerad till mars 2024.
• Det är fortfarande oklart om åklagare kommer att rekrytera Salame som ett av deras vittnen i oktoberrättegången mot Bankman-Fried. 

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Ryan Salame, the former co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, is in negotiations with federal prosecutors to enter a plea to criminal charges connected to the exchange’s downfall in November 2022. According to a Bloomberg artikel citing sources familiar with the matter, Salame could enter a plea as early as next month, ahead of Bankman-Fried’s trial scheduled for early October.

Det är fortfarande oklart om Salame kommer att vittna mot sin tidigare kollega. Salame har ännu inte åtalats i förhållande till FTX, och detaljerna i ett potentiellt åtalsavtal håller fortfarande på att utarbetas. 

Andra FTX- och Alameda Research-chefer, inklusive Gary Wang, Caroline Ellison och Nishad Singh, har redan erkänt skyldiga till anklagelserna i FTX-fallet. Åklagare planerar att använda dem som bevis i deras fall mot Bankman-Fried.

US prosecutors have reportedly been looking into Salame for possible violations of US campaign finance law in connection with his girlfriend Michelle Bond’s congressional race. Prosecutors believe that both parties exceeded the contribution limit.

Samtidigt har åklagare i Bankman-Fried-fallet uttryckt planer på att hävda att den tidigare FTX-VD:n bröt mot lagarna om kampanjfinansiering i deras domstolsstrid i oktober, trots att han nyligen dragit tillbaka den anklagelsen. 

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams wrote in a letter to Judge Lewis Kaplan on Tuesday that the “superseding indictment will make clear that Mr. Bankman-Fried remains charged with conducting an illegal campaign finance scheme as part of the fraud and money laundering schemes originally charged.”

Williams tillade i brevet: 

 The defendant’s use of customer deposits to conduct a political influence campaign was part of the wire fraud scheme charged in the original indictment. And as part of the originally charged money laundering scheme, the defendant also concealed the source of his fraudulent proceeds through political straw donations.

Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas a month after FTX filed for bankruptcy and then extradited to the United States, where he was charged with playing a part in the exchange’s collapse. The US Department of Justice initially announced eight charges against the 31-year-old. However, the DOJ added five new charges in February and March.

But, the DOJ was forced to drop charges of campaign finance violations after the defense filed a motion claiming that it was not part of the extradition treaty with the Bahamas. Prosecutors are also working to revoke Bankman-Fried’s bail after anklagande honom av vittnesmanipulation.

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