Sam Benkman-Fried, the founder of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, who is serving a 25-year prison sentence, has officially asked US President Donald Trump for clemency. The former billionaire filed the request after spending nearly three years behind bars.
Sam Benkman-Fried, the founder of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, who is serving a 25-year prison sentence, has officially asked US President Donald Trump for clemency. The former billionaire filed the request after spending nearly three years behind bars.
This is reported by the Financial Times, citing an official statement published on the website of the US Department of Justice’s Pardons Division. Earlier, Benkman-Fried also confirmed his intention in a telephone interview with Fox Business.
In 2023, a jury found Benkman-Fried guilty on seven counts, including grand larceny and money laundering. The investigation found that he illegally diverted billions of dollars in client funds to risky investments at his firm, Alameda Research, personal expenses, and political donations. His defense is now trying to challenge the verdict in court, arguing that some of the investments at the users’ expense ultimately turned out to be profitable.
To lobby for their interests, Benkman-Fried’s representatives turned to Republican strategist Brian Lanza of Mercury Public Affairs, who has close ties to the White House. The former businessman himself is determined. «I absolutely want to get a pardon from the president,» he said in comments to reporters from prison.
According to the Financial Times, an entire industry of intermediaries has formed around the pardon procedure in the US, whose services can cost up to $1 million. Previously, Trump has already pardoned several well-known figures in the crypto industry, including Binance founder Changpeng Zhao and BitMex co-founder Arthur Hayes, who were convicted of violating anti-money laundering laws.
The collapse of FTX in 2022 triggered a prolonged crisis in the cryptocurrency market. However, the exchange’s assets turned out to be promising for its creditors. At one time, the company made successful early investments in AI startups Anthropic and Cursor. The rapid growth in the capitalization of these developers allowed FTX liquidators to profitably sell shares and accumulate funds to pay compensation to affected clients.
