San Francisco: Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO and founder of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, has filed a pre-trial motion to dismiss 10 out of 13 charges against him.
His attorneys seek to dismiss the conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud charges, reports TechCrunch.
The lawyers also seek to dismiss a few other charges, including bribery and political contribution charges, the report mentioned.
Bankman-Fried is currently under house arrest at his parent’s house in Palo Alto, California, ahead of his expected trial in October.
The US authorities have charged him with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to misuse customer funds.
He is also facing suits by the SEC and CFTC over similar charges.
The US District Court for Southern District of New York has charged him for allegedly bribing Chinese officials “at least $40 million.”
The US Department of Justice alleged that Bankman-Fried “authorised and directed a bribe of at least $40 million to one or more Chinese government officials.”
The Justice Department said the Bankman-Fried wanted access to the funds in order to assist Alameda “in obtaining and retaining business.”
Bankman-Fried has also been charged with four additional counts of fraud, including unlawful political contributions leading up to the 2022 midterm elections.
He was arrested in the Bahamas on December 12, 2022 and extradited to the US on December 21.
–IANS