Damian Williams, United States Legal professional for the Southern District of New York, has petitioned the court docket to delay civil proceedings towards former FTX chief government officer Sam Bankman-Fried “till the conclusion of the parallel prison case”.
In Feb. 7 filings, Williams requested that the court docket problem an order staying civil proceedings in addition to discovery from the U.S. Securities and Trade Fee and Commodity Futures Buying and selling Fee towards Bankman-Fried till after his prison case, scheduled to go to trial in October. In keeping with Williams, the prison case towards Bankman-Fried was “prone to have a major impression” on the SEC and CFTC civil instances.
“The entire details at problem within the Civil Circumstances are additionally at problem within the Felony Case,” mentioned the submitting. “Certainly, as to the scheme to defraud FTX.com clients, the scheme to defraud FTX.com traders, the conspiracy to commit securities fraud by materially deceptive FTX.com traders, and the conspiracy to commit commodities fraud by misappropriating FTX.com buyer funds supposed for use for swaps buying and selling, just about all the similar paperwork, witnesses, and different proof that may be utilized by the SEC and CFTC to show their claims arising from these schemes would even be used to show the Authorities’s prison case.”
U.S. prosecutors ask to postpone SEC, CFTC instances towards Bankman-Fried https://t.co/wxU2nOPxps pic.twitter.com/4RiSODbuZo
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 7, 2023
Relating to staying discovery proceedings, the U.S. Legal professional claimed that with out intervention, Bankman-Fried had the instruments to “improperly get hold of impeachment materials concerning the Authorities’s witnesses, circumvent the prison discovery guidelines, and improperly tailor his protection within the Felony Case”. The choose overseeing SBF’s prison case has already banned the previous FTX CEO from utilizing encrypted messaging apps as a situation of his bail after allegations of contacting witnesses probably concerned within the case.
Attorneys for Bankman-Fried mentioned he didn’t object to staying the SEC and CFTC civil instances till the conclusion of the prison case. The authorized groups for former Alameda Analysis CEO Caroline Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang consented to staying the CFTC case. The 2 have already settled their civil instances with the SEC.
Associated: FTX fallout: SBF trial may set precedent for the crypto trade
Each the SEC and CFTC filed separate lawsuits towards Bankman-Fried in December, shortly after his arrest within the Bahamas. The SEC’s grievance sought injunctions that would forestall SBF from taking part within the issuance, buy, supply or sale of any securities apart from his private account, whereas the CFTC mentioned it was in search of injunctive and different equitable reduction in addition to civil financial penalties towards the previous CEO, in addition to FTX and Alameda.
