Sam Bankman-Fried officially asks Trump for a presidential pardon

The fallen crypto mogul serving a 25-year sentence filed a clemency petition, betting on Donald Trump's history of crypto pardons even though the president had told him not to count on one.

What to know:

• Sam Bankman-Fried, the imprisoned founder of the collapsed crypto exchange FTX, formally applied for a pardon from President Donald Trump as he serves a 25-year sentence for fraud and conspiracy.
• The clemency petition is listed as pending with the Justice Department’s Office of the Pardon Attorney, while he simultaneously pursues an appeal of his conviction.
• Bankman-Fried and his parents have sought support for a pardon as he publicly echoes Trump’s positions, though the president has signaled that Bankman-Fried should not expect clemency despite pardoning other high-profile crypto figures.

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of collapsed crypto exchange FTX, formally sought a presidential pardon from President Donald Trump while serving a 25-year prison sentence for fraud and conspiracy.

The clemency application appeared Monday in records maintained by the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of the Pardon Attorney. The case is listed as pending, meaning a clemency petition has been opened and is under review. The office said details of ongoing reviews are not publicly disclosed.

The former crypto executive, known by his initials SBF, was convicted in 2023 for orchestrating the fraud and conspiracy scheme that ultimately undid FTX, once one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges.

The company collapsed in November 2022 after CoinDesk reported on balance sheet concerns tied to affiliated trading firm Alameda Research, exposing an $8 billion hole in FTX's accounts and triggering a run on customer deposits.

Bankman-Fried confirmed his interest in clemency during a recent interview with FOX Business.

"I assume that you would want a pardon from the White House?" FOX Business correspondent Susan Li asked him by phone. "Absolutely," Bankman-Fried responded. "It would be obviously, you know, ultimately up to the president, not up to me."

He declined to say whether members of his family were lobbying the administration on his behalf. SBF’s parents, Stanford Law School professors Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, have previously reached out to individuals in Trump's orbit to explore a possible presidential pardon for their son. It's not clear whether any direct discussions with White House officials took place.

The pardon request follows months of public statements from Bankman-Fried that have aligned with Trump's positions. Writing through intermediaries using prison-approved communications, he has praised the president's decision to launch strikes against Iran, argued that Trump helped "save" the Securities and Exchange Commission by replacing former Chair Gary Gensler with Paul Atkins and highlighted lower gasoline prices during Trump's tenure.

He also appears to be following a playbook he wrote to try and ingratiate himself with Republicans after being seen as a Democratic mega-donor during the 2020 election. This playbook included items like appearing on Tucker Carlson's show, something he did last year.

The outreach has drawn attention because Trump has shown a willingness to pardon high-profile defendants, including several figures tied to the crypto industry. Since returning to office, Trump has pardoned Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, former Binance CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao and the co-founders of BitMEX.

Still, Trump's support is far from assured. In a January interview with The New York Times, the president said Bankman-Fried should not count on receiving clemency, grouping him with several other high-profile defendants he did not intend to pardon.

For now, Bankman-Fried remains incarcerated while his appeal efforts and clemency petition move through separate channels.

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