Indictment against SBF unsealed, contains 8 counts of financial and elections fraud

The indictment against Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) was opened on December 13. The indictment, signed by US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams, is 14 pages long and contains eight counts.

The charges listed against SBF in the indictment are: Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud on Customers, Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud on Customers, Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud on Lenders, Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud on Lenders, Conspiracy to Commit Commodity Fraud, Conspiracy to Commit Fraud securities, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to defraud the United States and violate campaign finance laws.

USA Damian Williams: Tonight, authorities in the Bahamas arrested Samuel Bankman-Fried at the request of the US government, based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY. We expect to move to unseal the allegation in the morning and will have more to say at that time.

— US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) December 12, 2022

As a result of the first four charges and the seventh, SBF must confiscate "any and all property, personal and immovable, that constitute or derive from the income attributable to the commission of said crimes." If that is not possible, the United States "will seek forfeiture of any other property of the defendant up to the value of the prior forfeitable property."

Only SBF is named in the indictment, although “known and unknown persons” are also referred to.

SDNY's accusation against SBF has been revealed. He is being charged with wire fraud and various conspiracies to commit: wire, commodity and securities fraud along with money laundering. He also violates campaign finance. They are throwing the book at him.https://t.co/biQ7vOJMBp

— Dave Lauer (@dlauer) December 13, 2022

Therefore, the indictment combines charges related to the operation of FTX and Alameda Research with the political activities of SBF. Charges under the eighth count include violating contribution laws, obstructing the functions of the Federal Election Commission, making contributions on behalf of others, and contributions made by organizations prohibited by federal law.

Related: Hours before his arrest, SBF denied being part of the 'Wirefraud' chat group

SBF was arrested in the Bahamas on December 12 at the request of the US government. The arrest came as a surprise to the House Financial Services Committee, which expected SBF to testify remotely at a hearing on the morning of December 13. testimony leaked online. The charges in the indictment are serious, but SBF is expected to face charges from many other sources as well. The US Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have also filed charges against SBFand he can face charges in US states and in other jurisdictions.