Prosecutors have opted not to pursue a second trial against Sam Bankman-Fried, the former boss of collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX and related hedge fund firm Alameda Research, according to an Associated Press report.
The report cites a letter sent to Judge Lewis Kaplan last week as confirming that US federal lawyers believe evidence presented in a second trial would duplicate that already shown to a jury in Bankman-Fried’s original trial which saw him convicted of all seven criminal counts against him following just few hours of deliberation.
In the letter, the prosecutors added that the Court could consider the hundreds of exhibits already entered into evidence ahead of sentencing later this year.
“Given that practical reality, and the strong public interest in a prompt resolution of this matter, the Government intends to proceed to sentencing on the counts for which the defendant was convicted at trial,” the letter said.
The second trial, which had been slated to start in March, was in relation to additional criminal counts not heard in the firm trial, including conspiracy to bribe foreign officials, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business and substantive securities fraud and commodities fraud.
