FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Denied Motions to Dismiss Criminal Charges by Judge

A federal judge has denied pretrial motions to dismiss criminal charges against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, paving the way for his trial to go forward.

Bankman-Fried is facing a range of charges, including wire fraud, bank fraud, operating an unlicensed money transmitter, bribery, and campaign finance violations.

He had filed seven pretrial motions seeking the dismissal of the majority of these charges, but Judge Lewis Kaplan of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York denied the final three motions on Tuesday.

In a detailed 41-page memorandum, Judge Kaplan outlined his reasoning for rejecting the remaining pretrial motions. He specifically addressed questions regarding the jurisdiction’s venue and the validity of property right claims made by the prosecutors in their fraud charges.

Judge Kaplan cited the Second Circuit’s view that dismissal is an “extreme sanction” reserved for rare and exceptional circumstances, especially in cases involving serious criminal conduct. The judge emphasized the high bar set for dismissal and the need for strong justifications to warrant such an outcome.

Earlier, Judge Kaplan had granted the severance of five out of the 13 charges against Bankman-Fried, setting a trial date for March 2024 specifically for those charges.

Bankman-Fried had argued that the Bahamas, where he had been extradited from, needed to consent to charges brought after the extradition.

However, the judge noted that the Bahamas had not objected to any charges thus far, while acknowledging the possibility of a “renewed motion” if that stance changes in the future.