Sam Bankman-Fried Drops Retrial Bid, Citing Fairness Concerns

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has retracted his request for a new trial, citing doubts about receiving a fair hearing. Currently serving a 25-year sentence for fraud and conspiracy convictions related to FTX's collapse in 2022, Bankman-Fried indicated that he may revisit the motion after the outcome of his direct appeal and a related request for reassignment are determined. The initial motion for a new trial was submitted by his mother, Barbara Fried, who claimed that newly discovered evidence would warrant a retrial. Bankman-Fried, who drafted the motion while in detention at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, stated that he consulted with his lawyers and family members, incorporating some of their suggestions into the document. He also shared earlier drafts with a New York attorney who was initially hired to represent him. The appeal is presently before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, where his attorney, Alexandra Shapiro, argued during oral arguments in November that the trial was fundamentally unfair due to limitations on the evidence Bankman-Fried could present to the jury.