Damian Williams, United States Legal professional for the Southern District of New York, has petitioned the courtroom to delay civil proceedings towards former FTX chief govt officer Sam Bankman-Fried “till the conclusion of the parallel legal case”.
In Feb. 7 filings, Williams requested that the courtroom situation an order staying civil proceedings in addition to discovery from the U.S. Securities and Change Fee and Commodity Futures Buying and selling Fee towards Bankman-Fried till after his legal case, scheduled to go to trial in October. Based on Williams, the legal case towards Bankman-Fried was “more likely to have a major affect” on the SEC and CFTC civil instances.
“All the information at situation within the Civil Instances are additionally at situation within the Prison Case,” stated the submitting. “Certainly, as to the scheme to defraud FTX.com prospects, the scheme to defraud FTX.com buyers, the conspiracy to commit securities fraud by materially deceptive FTX.com buyers, and the conspiracy to commit commodities fraud by misappropriating FTX.com buyer funds meant for use for swaps buying and selling, nearly all the identical paperwork, witnesses, and different proof that might be utilized by the SEC and CFTC to show their claims arising from these schemes would even be used to show the Authorities’s legal 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
Concerning staying discovery proceedings, the U.S. Legal professional claimed that with out intervention, Bankman-Fried had the instruments to “improperly receive impeachment materials relating to the Authorities’s witnesses, circumvent the legal discovery guidelines, and improperly tailor his protection within the Prison Case”. The decide overseeing SBF’s legal case has already banned the previous FTX CEO from utilizing encrypted messaging apps as a situation of his bail after allegations of contacting witnesses doubtlessly concerned within the case.
Attorneys for Bankman-Fried stated he didn’t object to staying the SEC and CFTC civil instances till the conclusion of the legal 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 might forestall SBF from collaborating within the issuance, buy, supply or sale of any securities aside from his private account, whereas the CFTC stated 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.