Sam Bankman-Fried Drops Retrial Request, Citing Fairness Concerns

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has formally withdrawn his request for a retrial, citing concerns that he would not receive a fair hearing. Bankman-Fried, currently serving a 25-year prison sentence for fraud and conspiracy related to FTX's collapse in 2022, indicated that he might renew the motion after the outcome of his direct appeal and a related request for reassignment have been decided. The initial motion for a new trial was submitted by his mother, Barbara Fried, who claimed that newly discovered evidence warranted a retrial. Bankman-Fried revealed that he had largely drafted the motion himself while in detention, with minimal assistance, and had consulted with his lawyers and family members for editorial suggestions. He also shared earlier drafts with an external attorney, but stated that this individual had no significant input into the final motion. 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. The appeal is ongoing in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, where Bankman-Fried's attorney, Alexandra Shapiro, argued during oral arguments in November that the original trial was fundamentally unfair due to restrictions on the evidence Bankman-Fried could present to the jury.