Sam Bankman-Fried Drops Retrial Bid, Citing Fairness Concerns

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has officially withdrawn his motion for a retrial, citing concerns that he may not receive a fair hearing. Bankman-Fried, who is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence after being convicted of seven counts of fraud and conspiracy related to FTX's collapse in 2022, indicated that he may refile the motion after the outcome of his direct appeal and a related request for reassignment have been determined. The motion for a new trial was initially filed by his mother, Barbara Fried, who claimed that newly discovered evidence would warrant a retrial. Bankman-Fried drafted the motion himself while in detention at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, with limited assistance from his lawyers and family members. He clarified that although he sought input from his lawyers and parents, the final motion was largely his own work. A Rule 33 motion, which is a formal request for a new trial based on new evidence or in the interest of justice, is currently pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. During oral arguments in November, Bankman-Fried's attorney, Alexandra Shapiro, argued that the trial was inherently unfair, citing restrictions on the evidence that Bankman-Fried could present to the jury.