A federal judge denied the motion to dismiss most of the charges brought against FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF). The Block.
Defense filed the corresponding motion in May 2023. The lawyers asked to dismiss almost all counts, except for the conspiracy to commit securities fraud, commodities fraud and money laundering.
The motion argued that several counts duplicate or relate to a single count. Some counts, according to the defense, appeared after SBF’s extradition to the United States. In total, they filed seven motions.
The judge denied the motions, calling them “controversial or unfounded”.
In December 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice charged the FTX founder with eight counts. He was arrested in the Bahamas and extradited to the United States, where he was released on $250 million bail.
In February 2023, prosecutors increased the number of charges against Bankman-Fried to 12, and in March — to 13. He pleaded not guilty to none of the counts, including bribing a Chinese official. The trial was scheduled for October 2, 2023.