How Likely is Sam Bankman-Fried’s Pardon? | Airdrop Alert Pro

BeInCrypto earlier reported that there were serious concerns about former FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s early release from prison via a pardon from the outgoing president. Tweets from influencers like Elon Musk suggest this is a strong possibility.

But what are the facts of this consideration? What are the chances that the FTX founder will be released from prison less than a year after his conviction?

Sam Bankman-Fried donates more than $5 million to Biden campaign

Back in 2020, when FTX’s success was at its peak, Sam Bankman-Fried donates $5.2 million Providing help to pro-Biden super PACs during the election. He is the second-largest individual donor to the Democratic Party after Michael Bloomberg.

Historically, political donors and their affiliates have gained significant advantages in obtaining convictions and pardons. Take Mark Rich, for example. The notorious oil trader evaded at least $50 million in taxes in 2021.

However, Rich was pardoned by Clinton on his final day in office. The pardon was controversial because Rich’s ex-wife, Denise, was a major donor to the Democratic Party. She made significant contributions to the Clinton Presidential Library and the Democratic National Committee.

Similarly. Another convicted tax fraudster, Paul Pogue, was pardoned by Donald Trump in 2020. There are reports that this is because Pogue’s family donated more than $200,000 to Trump’s campaign.

“Sam Bankman-Fried used millions of stolen client funds to fund political campaigns. SBF donated almost entirely to Democrats (98%), making him the second-largest donor to the Democratic Party. Now Biden has 12% chance of pardoning him,” Kalsi Prediction Markets release on X (formerly Twitter).

So, given the historical controversy over political donors being more likely to receive clemency, we can think of it this way: Sam Bankman-Fried may be on President Biden’s radar.

Additionally, President Biden pardoned Michael Conahan last week. Conahan was sentenced to 17 years in prison for his role in the infamous “Kids for Cash” scandal. He accepted bribes from private juvenile detention centers in exchange for sentencing children to those facilities, often for misdemeanors.

It’s tangible evidence that Biden may not shy away from granting clemency to felons.

FTX Founder Charged with Campaign Finance Violations Dropped

One of the most controversial aspects of the Bankman-Fried trial was the government’s omission of campaign finance-related charges against him.

He initially faced eight criminal charges, including conspiracy to defraud the United States and violating campaign finance laws. However, this campaign finance fee was eliminated in July 2023.

this Charges dropped Bankman Freed was originally extradited to the Bahamas due to treaty obligations with the Bahamas. Essentially, The Bahamas government does not approve Include this specific allegation in the extradition request.

However, prosecutors said they would hold separate trials on those charges. The second trial was intended to resolve dismissed campaign finance charges and other counts related to bribery and operating an unlicensed money transfer business.

However, in December 2023, prosecutors announced that they would not proceed with a second trial because the evidence would largely repeat what had already been presented in the first trial.

Controversial 25-year sentence

Earlier this year, Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison Facing multiple charges of wire fraud and money laundering. However, many considered the sentence to be lenient given the scale and impact of his crimes.

this FTX crashes Customers and creditors lost more than $16 billion, and due crypto winter. Therefore, as one of the largest financial scandals in U.S. history, many viewed the sentence as lenient.

“Bankman-Fried and his associates want a pardon or reduced sentence in exchange for campaign contributions they stole from FTX investors. Any president who agrees to this should be impeached for taking bribes.” Wrote The famous attorney Richard W. Painter.

Prosecutors initially sought a 50-year sentence, arguing that Bankman-Fried’s crimes were “historic” in scope and severity. They highlighted the massive financial losses suffered by FTX clients and the erosion of public trust in the cryptocurrency market.

return, Caroline Ellisonactively receive client funds from FTX and Bankman-Friend, only Sentenced to 2 years in prison for her cooperation with prosecutors. Most surprisingly, Gary Wang wrote the backdoor code that provided Alameda with unlimited credit. Completely avoided jail time.

Given these facts and critics who argue that the convictions are too lenient, the crypto industry has one noteworthy expectation: Sam Bankman-Freed Leniency may be sought.

It is worth noting, however, that the connection between donation and pardon is not always clear-cut. The president may have other reasons for clemency, and it would be difficult to clearly prove that a donation was the sole or primary motivating factor.

However, past cases have raised ethical concerns about the possibility of wealthy people using political donations to stay out of legal trouble.