As the trial of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried begins, the US Department of Justice made a statement regarding his charitable and political donations, as well as regulation of the crypto industry.
Prosecutors rejected Bankman-Fried’s defense that FTX was not regulated in the United States but complied with regulations in the Bahamas, its jurisdiction of incorporation.
They also rejected arguments that there are no provisions directly prohibiting crypto exchanges from using customer deposits.
“The alleged lack of clearly applicable laws or regulations is irrelevant to whether there were material violations,” prosecutors said.
According to law enforcement, the defendant violated general industry rules and illegally appropriated money entrusted to him by users for his own use.
“The presence or absence of regulation is irrelevant to the proof of allegations of fraud,” the letter states.
The Ministry of Justice also noted that references to law-abiding behavior in other areas such as paying taxes or traffic cannot serve as proof of innocence in deceiving investors.
Law enforcement officers did not object to the presentation of information about Bankman-Fried’s charitable donations during the trial. However, they insist that such testimony must be given with the approval of the court to avoid misleading the jury.
With respect to financial support for political campaigns by FTX and its CEO, prosecutors upheld the court’s decision to dismiss the defendant’s witness. According to them, the expert had to show that such a practice was legal. The Ministry of Justice is not going to dispute this, but intends to prove that misappropriated client funds were illegally used for these purposes.
Let us remind you that on the eve of the start of the hearings in the Bankman-Fried case, ForkLog collected current news from the defense and prosecution.
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