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FTX’s Bankman-Fried pleads not guilty to fraud charges, gets date to file for dismissal

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The founder of Futures Exchange (FTX), Sam Bankman-Fried, has pleaded not guilty to the eight different charges brought against him by the U.S prosecutors.

Bankman-Fried faces charges on conspiracy to commit wire fraud on customers; wire fraud on lenders; commodities fraud; securities fraud; money laundering; and conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and violate campaign finance laws.

He was the second-largest individual donor for Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, handing out $5.2 million. Also, Bankman-Fried was accused of fraudulently raising $1.8 billion from investors since May 2019, out of which $1.1 billion was provided by 90 U.S.-based investors.

Ripples Nigeria had reported that he was arrested on December 12, 2022, in the Bahamas on request by the U.S prosecutors to face the charges against him.

Following the charges read in court on Tuesday, his lawyer, pleaded not guilty on his behalf. Bankman-Fried was given until April 3, 2023, to file a motion to dismiss the case.

READ ALSO:FTX founder, Bankman-Fried, used clients’ funds to buy real estate, support politicians —SEC

He was issued a $250 million bail bond, with the Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon, obtaining a court order to prevent Bankman-Fried from accessing FTX funds or its affiliated entities.

Sassoon cited the thousands of dollars worth of crypto that were transferred into other wallets last week from several Alameda wallets, which is the sister-company of FTX, “This money is now inaccessible for the purposes of government seizure,” Sassoon said.

Meanwhile, in case Bankman-Fried files for dismissal, federal prosecutors are expected to counter by April 24, with the FTX founder given a May 8 date to respond.

Both parties will get to argue their cases in a hearing on May 18.

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