Sam Bankman-Fried Drops Request for New Trial, Citing Fairness Concerns

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the now-defunct FTX cryptocurrency exchange, has officially withdrawn his motion for a retrial, citing concerns that he may not receive a fair hearing. Currently serving a 25-year sentence for multiple counts of fraud and conspiracy related to FTX's 2022 collapse, Bankman-Fried 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 would warrant a retrial. Bankman-Fried, who drafted the motion himself with limited assistance while in detention, stated that he may revisit the request following the resolution of his appeal, which is currently pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. During recent oral arguments, his lawyer argued that the original trial was fundamentally flawed due to restrictions on the evidence Bankman-Fried could present to the jury.