SBF seeks to sever new charges from trial, says proceedings may take ‘years’

Attorneys for former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (also known as “SBF”) are looking for to sever or dismiss 6 charges from his approaching trial, declaring that it might take years for courts in the Bahamas to rule on whether they will allow him to be pursued these offenses, according to a June 12 document filed in a New York federal court.Prosecutors acknowledged on May 29 that they require authorization from the Bahamas to try Bankman-Fried for 5 of the charges he was prosecuted on considering that these offenses were not included in the original arrangement that enabled him to be extradited to the United States. However, prosecutors mentioned they were looking for approval from the Bahamian federal government to attempt him for these additional offenses.In response, SBFs lawyers on June 12 stated they had asked the Bahamas Supreme Court to obstruct the government from granting this permission other than in accordance with the law. The Bahamas Supreme Court is expected to respond by June 13. In the meantime, the Bahamian court has actually informed a minister in the executive branch not to release a judgment on the concern, defense lawyer stated. Excerpt from defense lawyer June 12 filing. Source: CourtListenerAccording to the defense, even if the unnamed minister was to supply approval to charge SBF with additional offenses, the accused would can appeal this choice through the Bahamas courts. This indicates the process would “likely take several months or years to resolve.” In the meantime, the charges must be dismissed, as they are used to detain the defendant under home arrest.Related: SBF upset by criminal trials late proof while FTX seeks sale of AI stockDefense lawyers likewise provided an alternative service to the problem: If the U.S. district court feels that it cant dismiss the charges, it ought to sever them from the upcoming trial. This would enable Bankman-Fried to be attempted on the seven charges he concurred to be extradited on however none others.Bankman-Fried was initially charged in December in connection with his management of failed crypto exchange FTX. District attorneys declare that he combined consumer funds and misguided financiers about FTXs danger management practices, leading to losses for customers and financiers. Bankman-Fried claims the exchange collapsed since of common management mistakes, not scams.