US Department of Justice re-indicts SBF for alleged illegal political donations, FTX case tainted witness may face additional charges

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US Justice Department Reaccuses SBF of Involvement in Illegal Campaign Contributions

Representing the US Justice Department, federal prosecutor Damian Williams of the Southern District of New York, on July 26, withdrew the charges of illegal campaign contributions against SBF, stating:

In order to fulfill obligations under the extradition agreement with the Bahamian government, the charges of "illegal campaign contributions and defrauding the Federal Election Commission" against SBF will be withdrawn.

He noted that this decision was made after SBF argued that these charges were not part of the extradition agreement.

However, on August 8, he wrote to the presiding judge of the SBF case, Lewis Kaplan, indicating that an alternate indictment will be submitted, bringing back the original seven charges against SBF, with the previously withdrawn campaign finance charges being included in wire fraud.

The letter stated:

The alternate indictment will make it clear that SBF is still accused of running an illegal campaign funding scheme, using customer deposits for campaign activities, which falls under the wire fraud charge as originally presented in the indictment. In the initial money laundering charge, the defendant also concealed the source of fraudulent proceeds in political contributions.

Another Tainted Witness Being Considered

According to Bloomberg's sources, Ryan Salame, Co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets FTX Bahamas entity, is in negotiations with federal prosecutors.

However, as he has not faced any criminal charges in the SBF case, the details of a potential plea deal are yet to be confirmed.

If confirmed, Ryan Salame would become the fourth tainted witness, adding pressure on SBF ahead of the trial scheduled for October, which includes witnesses:

• FTX Chief Engineer Nishad Singh

• FTX Co-Founder and CTO Gary Wang

• Former CEO of Alameda Research, Caroline Ellison

SBF is currently set to stand trial on October 2, with another trial scheduled for March 2024, covering additional charges brought forth in multiple alternate indictments.