Placed on Hold: Sam Bankman-Civil Fried’s Cases
The civil cases filed against Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, have been halted by a New York judge. The two regulators’ legal actions will be postponed until the Department of Justice’s ongoing criminal investigation into Bankman-Fried is finished.
Reasons for the Delay
The prosecution contend that given the significant overlap between the two cases, it makes sense to postpone the civil actions. It is anticipated that the resolution of the criminal case will have a substantial effect on the problems raised by the civil lawsuits. Furthermore, there is a chance that Bankman-Fried may skew his criminal defense by using the material acquired in the civil proceedings to discredit government witnesses, get past the criminal case’s discovery laws, and circumvent them.
A Typical Practice
When the Justice Department is managing simultaneous criminal proceedings, the litigation filed by the SEC and CFTC are frequently put on hold.
Status of Bankman-Fried Currently
The 30-year-old Bankman-Fried is presently free on a $250 million bond and living with his parents in Palo Alto, California. He is accused of stealing billions of dollars from FTX, although he has entered a not guilty plea. Lewis Kaplan, a federal judge in Manhattan, is presiding over the case.