DOJ will still argue campaign finance charges against Sam Bankman-Fried

The Justice Department plans to file a superseding indictment next week which it says will still include arguments that former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried conducted an “illegal campaign finance scheme,” despite saying last month that they had dropped a related charge.

That allegation will now be included in a wire fraud charge, according to court documents on Tuesday. 

Bankman-Fried’s “use of customer deposits to conduct a political influence campaign was part of the wire fraud scheme charges in the original indictment, “ U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams said in a letter to the court. 

“The superseding indictment will make clear that Mr. Bankman-Fried remains charged with conducting an illegal campaign finance scheme as part of the fraud and money laundering schemes originally charged,” Williams said. 

Treaty trouble

In late July, prosecutors dropped campaign finance charges against Bankman-Fried, citing a complication related to the U.S.’s extradition treaty with the Bahamas. The Bahamian government told U.S. authorities at the time that it did not intend to extradite Bankman-Fried on that charge.

In a footnote on Tuesday, Williams addressed the government’s inability to bring the campaign finance charge.

“As the Court is aware, the Government is prevented by its treaty obligations to the Bahamas from proceeding on Count Eight of the original Indictment, after the Bahamas stated that the defendant’s criminal campaign finance scheme was deliberately omitted from its extradition,” Williams said. 

Bankman-Fried will still face seven charges when he goes to trial in October, including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering.