US Judge Rejects Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s Bid for New Trial

A US judge has declined former FTX CEO and co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried's plea for a new trial, claiming that the witnesses cited were not newly discovered. The former FTX CEO's trial was overseen by Judge Lewis Kaplan in 2023, who wrote in an order on Tuesday that the claim of new evidence and witnesses was baseless. In February, Bankman-Fried had requested a new trial to be overseen by a different judge. On top of that, the motion was reportedly filed without consulting his lawyers, while an appeals court was considering his conviction and sentence. 

Judge Questions Basis of Motion and Dismisses Claims

On Wednesday, Bankman-Fried sought to withdraw his request, as he believed that he would not get a fair hearing on this topic, but the judge denied. As per a report by Bloomberg, the FTX founder had accused Nishad Singh, who is the firm's head of engineering, of changing his statement after “threats from the government.” He also added that the two other executives, Daniel Chapsky and Ryan Salame, would also dispute the prosecution's claims, but they also declined to testify due to similar repercussions. 

The judge had characterised the motion by Bankman-Fried as part of a calculated effort to strengthen his reputation, stating that “This motion appears to be one part of a plan to rescue his reputation that Bankman-Fried hatched and even committed to writing after FTX declared bankruptcy but before he was indicted," according to court documents.

In 2024, Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison for stealing $8 billion (roughly Rs. 66,678 crore) from customers of the now-bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange he founded. US District Judge Lewis Kaplan handed down the sentence at a Manhattan court hearing after rejecting Bankman-Fried's claim that FTX customers did not actually lose money and finding that he lied during his trial testimony.

The jury found Bankman-Fried guilty on seven fraud and conspiracy counts stemming from FTX's 2022 collapse in what prosecutors have called one of the biggest financial frauds in US history.

The court's decision comes as Bankman-Fried's case continues to proceed through the appeals process. Furthermore, the case remains one of the most closely scrutinised cases in the crypto industry, reflecting the implications of accountability and regulation in the sector.