The Department of Justice (DOJ) dropped a campaign finance charge against disgraced former crypto tycoon Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) on Wednesday night, according to a court document from the Southern District of New York.
Authorities assert that SBF, co-founder of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, and its associates, utilized customer deposits for $90 million in campaign contributions to around 300 candidates or political action committees, according to The New York Times.
The DOJ’s letter to the New York court states that it is not pursuing the charge because The Bahamas did not plan to extradite SBF to the U.S. on it.
“The Government has been informed that The Bahamas notified the United States earlier today that The Bahamas did not intend to extradite the defendant on the campaign contributions count,” the letter asserts. “Accordingly, in keeping with its treaty obligations to The Bahamas, the Government does not intend to proceed to trial on the campaign contributions count.”
According to The Washington Post’s analysis of Federal Election Commission data, SBF contributed nearly $39 million to Democrat-aligned causes, emerging as the second-largest individual donor to them during the 2022 midterm election cycle.
The Bahamas speedily extradited SBF to the U.S. in December when FTX collapsed, according to the NYT. Since then, he has been confined to his parents‘ California residence on a $250 million bond, according to NPR.
Prosecutors requested a federal judge to detain him in jail until his trial scheduled for October on Wednesday, according to NPR. The judge placed a gag order on SBF because he allegedly tampered with witnesses by leaking his former girlfriend and FTX business partner Caroline Ellison’s diary entries, according to CNN Business.
The DOJ and SBF’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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