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Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has formally withdrawn his motion for a retrial, expressing doubts about receiving a fair hearing. In a letter to the presiding judge, Bankman-Fried indicated that he might reconsider his request after the resolution of his direct appeal and a related petition for reassignment. The motion for a new trial was initially filed by his mother, Barbara Fried, citing the emergence of new evidence that could warrant a retrial. Bankman-Fried, who is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence for his conviction on multiple counts of fraud and conspiracy related to FTX's collapse in 2022, drafted the motion himself while in detention, with minimal assistance. He acknowledged consulting his lawyers and family members, including his parents, who provided editorial suggestions and helped with printing the document. Bankman-Fried's appeal, which argues that his trial was fundamentally unfair due to restrictions on the evidence he could present to the jury, is ongoing in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.