The head of FTX wanted to keep some assets. The way was supposed to be a giant bribe

Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, has a different problem. Another has just been added to the long list of accusations already brought against him. This is a giant bribe.

FTX Founder Bribes Chinese Officials

Under house arrest in Palo Alto, California, Sam Bankman-Freed, who was recently called the youngest billionaire, has another serious problem.

According to the latest data, the young billionaire, after his company filed for bankruptcy and many regulators decided to block his funds in order to pay them to investors, tried to return some of this money.

Bankman-Fried himself will be charged with attempting to bribe one or more Chinese officials for up to $40 million. This money was supposed to release the funds of the bankrupt FTX, frozen by the Chinese regulator.

Interestingly, this is not about the situation after the collapse of the company, but about an incident that occurred in 2021. It was then that the Chinese regulator blocked the assets of the Alameda subsidiary worth almost a billion dollars.

bail $250 million

Sam Bankman-Freed was detained in the Bahamas, where he lived and ran a company, and then spent several weeks in a prison infested with rats. After being extradited to the United States, the court agreed to release him from custody on $250 million bail. The billionaire is required to live in his parents’ home in Palo Alto, California. In such conditions, a trial awaits him, which can end in a very harsh sentence.

The accusation of bribery of Chinese officials will be the thirteenth that the young businessman will hear. He was recently acquitted by a court of defrauding billions of dollars of investors before the company filed for bankruptcy.