Sam Bankman-Fried Drops Request for Retrial, Citing Concerns Over Fairness

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has formally withdrawn his request for a retrial, citing doubts about receiving a fair hearing. In a letter to the presiding judge, Bankman-Fried expressed his intention to potentially renew the motion after the resolution of his direct appeal and a related request for reassignment. Currently serving a 25-year sentence for multiple counts of fraud and conspiracy related to FTX's collapse in 2022, Bankman-Fried indicated that he may revisit the motion once these legal proceedings have concluded. The initial motion for a new trial was filed by his mother, Barbara Fried, on the basis of newly discovered evidence that could warrant a retrial. Bankman-Fried revealed that he personally drafted the motion while in detention, with limited input from his lawyers and family members. Although they provided editorial suggestions and assistance with printing the document, Bankman-Fried maintained that he was the primary author of the letter to the judge. His appeal is currently pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, where his attorney, Alexandra Shapiro, argued during November's oral arguments that the original trial was fundamentally unfair, particularly due to the restrictions imposed on the evidence Bankman-Fried could present to the jury.