Sam Bankman-Fried Faces 13th Criminal Count of Bribery in Connection with Collapse of FTX Cryptocurrency Firm

Sam Bankman-Fried, co-founder of the now-defunct cryptocurrency firm FTX and hedge fund Alameda Research, has been charged with a 13th criminal count of bribery by federal prosecutors.

The new indictment, unsealed Tuesday by the Southern District Court of New York, accuses Bankman-Fried of bribing “one or more” Chinese government officials with $40 million in 2021. The payment was allegedly made in an effort to unfreeze accounts belonging to Bankman-Fried’s hedge fund, Alameda Research, which had been frozen by the Chinese government.

Bankman-Fried, who is currently out on a $250 million bond, has already pleaded not guilty to eight criminal counts of fraud and conspiracy, and has yet to be arraigned on five others.

The charges against Bankman-Fried stem from the mismanagement and collapse of FTX, which was once one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency firms. Bankman-Fried co-founded the firm in 2018 and was its CEO until its collapse in 2020.

The new bribery charge is the latest in a series of legal troubles for Bankman-Fried. He is currently awaiting trial and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

The case is being closely watched by the cryptocurrency industry, as Bankman-Fried was one of its most prominent figures prior to his arrest. It remains to be seen how the new bribery charge will affect the outcome of his trial.