Sam Bankman-Fried Files Trump Pardon Bid as FTX Creditor Repayments Advance

Sam Bankman-Fried has formally requested a presidential pardon from Donald Trump in connection with the 2022 collapse of FTX, according to a report from CoinGape. The application was submitted through the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of the Pardon Attorney, where pardon petitions are processed for presidential review.

Bankman-Fried is currently serving a 25-year prison term handed down in March 2024 by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who also ordered more than $11 billion in forfeitures. He was convicted in November 2023 on seven criminal charges, including counts of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering tied to the failures of FTX and Alameda Research. Prosecutors alleged that Alameda misappropriated customer funds to cover trading losses, political contributions and venture investments, contributing to the loss of more than $8 billion in customer money after FTX filed for bankruptcy in November 2022.

The pardon request comes despite Trump's public statements denying any offer of clemency to the former FTX chief. Since his conviction, Bankman-Fried has publicly challenged aspects of the government's case.

Separately, the FTX bankruptcy estate has continued moving forward with creditor repayments. The estate was launched following the exchange's Chapter 11 filing and is tasked with recovering and redistributing assets to customers and other claimants affected by the platform's collapse.