Sam Bankman-Fried pleads not guilty to bribery, charges from superseding indictment

The former FTX CEO’s legal team argued that though SBF had entered a not guilty plea, he did not acknowledge the new charges, which including bribed a Chinese government official.

Lawyers for former FTX chief executive officer Sam Bankman-Fried have entered a not guilty plea for five additional charges since his December 2022 arraignment, including allegations of bribery.

According to multiple reports, Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York to four charges added as part of a superseding indictment in February, and one charge added on March 28 related to the former CEO allegedly bribing a Chinese government official. Other charges include conspiracy counts related to fraud as well as those for wire fraud and securities fraud during his time at FTX.

Mark Cohen, the attorney representing Bankman-Fried in the criminal case, reportedly argued that though SBF had entered a not guilty plea, there was no acknowledgement that the court had the authority to bring the charges against him.

This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.