{"id":92959,"date":"2026-01-09T10:09:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T07:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/?p=92959"},"modified":"2026-01-12T10:34:46","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T07:34:46","slug":"trump-rules-out-pardoning-ftx-founder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/trump-rules-out-pardoning-ftx-founder\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Rules Out Pardoning FTX Founder"},"content":{"rendered":"

US President Donald Trump has ruled out the possibility of pardoning the founder of FTX exchange<\/a>, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), who is serving a 25-year sentence for fraud. The politician made this statement in an interview with The New York Times<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The “stop list” also includes former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, music producer Sean “Diddy” Combs, and former New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez.<\/p>\n

SBF has been in custody<\/a> since August 2023, when a federal judge denied<\/a> his request for release on bail pending the criminal trial. In March 2024, the crypto entrepreneur was sentenced<\/a> to 25 years in prison after being found guilty on seven counts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Media outlets have reported<\/a> that Bankman-Fried’s parents are exploring avenues to secure his pardon. Journalists from the Wall Street Journal have written<\/a> about the preparation of strategic memorandums and the involvement of external lawyers in the case. However, they found no direct contacts with Trump’s campaign team.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Conservative activist Laura Loomer claimed there was a “large-scale and well-funded” campaign to persuade the US president to pardon the FTX founder. However, there were no official confirmations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The US Department of Justice also did not include SBF in the list of candidates for pardon in 2025.<\/p>\n

Despite Trump having freed Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht<\/a> and former Binance head Changpeng Zhao<\/a>, the market remains skeptical about Bankman-Fried’s case. The community estimates his chances of being released from prison before 2027 at only 5%.<\/p>\n

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Source: Polymarket<\/a>.\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bankman-Fried’s situation is complicated by his political past: the FTX founder was a key donor<\/a> to the Democratic Party and personally to Joe Biden.<\/p>\n

Appeal Prospects<\/h2>\n

Bankman-Fried still has a chance to appeal the sentence. Hearings in the Court of Appeals took place<\/a> in November, but the final document has yet to be filed in the registry. If denied, the defense will have only one option left\u2014an appeal to the US Supreme Court.<\/p>\n

The sentences of others involved in the FTX collapse are nearing completion. Sentenced to two years<\/a> in prison, Caroline Ellison will be released on January 21. In October, she was transferred from a federal facility in Connecticut to the New York Reentry Management Office\u2014a standard procedure in preparation for release.<\/p>\n