NEW YORK, Feb 11 (Bernama-dpa) -- Former cryptocurrency kingpin Sam Bankman-Fried, who is serving a 25-year sentence in a US prison, has requested a new trial.
A motion to overturn the 2023 fraud verdict against Bankman-Fried was filed in a New York court by his mother, it emerged on Tuesday, reported German news agency dpa.
The 33-year-old claims that two key witnesses were prevented from testifying in his favour due to pressure from federal agents.
Bankman-Fried is the former chief executive of FTX, one of the largest trading platforms for cryptocurrencies, before it spectacularly collapsed in late 2022.
He was subsequently arrested in the Bahamas and extradited to the United States, where he was ultimately charged with embezzling customer assets.
The former golden boy of crypto was accused of stealing billions of dollars from FTX customers to siphon money to his crypto hedge fund Alameda Research, funding risky business investments, political donations and a luxury Caribbean penthouse.
When the dealings became public, there was a multibillion-dollar hole in FTX's coffers as nervous customers sought to withdraw funds, resulting in the company's insolvency
In his motion, Bankman-Fried claimed that FTX was in a liquidity crisis but was fundamentally solvent.
He is attempting to have the trial reopened, while an appeal against the verdict is already underway.
In addition, according to media reports, the Bankman-Fried camp is attempting to obtain a pardon from President Donald Trump.
In an interview with the New York Times, however, Trump said that he had no intention of pardoning Bankman-Fried.
--BERNAMA-dpa
BERNAMA provides up-to-date authentic and comprehensive news and information which are disseminated via BERNAMA Wires; www.bernama.com; BERNAMA TV on Astro 502, unifi TV 631 and MYTV 121 channels and BERNAMA Radio on FM93.9 (Klang Valley), FM107.5 (Johor Bahru), FM107.9 (Kota Kinabalu) and FM100.9 (Kuching) frequencies.
Follow us on social media :
Facebook : @bernamaofficial, @bernamatv, @bernamaradio
Twitter : @bernama.com, @BernamaTV, @bernamaradio
Instagram : @bernamaofficial, @bernamatvofficial, @bernamaradioofficial
TikTok : @bernamaofficial
