FTX CEO convicted of fraud in 2024.
San Bankman-Fried continues his efforts to absolve himself of responsibility for his actions as CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX. In 2024, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison on fraud charges surrounding the company. Today, Bloomberg reported that Bankman-Fried had formally filed a petition requesting a presidential pardon “after he has served his sentence,” rather than a commutation that would end his prison term prematurely. He has already filed an appeal to overturn the initial decision against him and request a new trial.
The White House has been fairly free on pardons, particularly in the crypto space where the Trump family has its own business; Binance founder Changpeng Zhao was one such beneficiary last year. In an interview with The New York Times Earlier this year, Trump said he had no plans to offer a pardon to Bankman-Fried, even if the reporter were to tell him who the disgraced crypto CEO was.
