In this week's summary of all things crypto last week, CryptoWatch followed the many charges Sam Bankman-Fried is into, down to the plea hearing to which he pleaded "not guilty" again in the latest proceedings of his case. There is also another top crypto exchange platform that is in a tight bind, and it is Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao and a CTFC violation.
Cryptocurrency is still a significant obstacle to raising its prices now, and these lawsuits bring a problem to how they are perceived by the public, and its quest to rally back to previous valuations.
SBF Faces New Charges Regarding Bribery to Chinese Officials
The infamous former CEO of FTX is facing another set of criminal charges, for his alleged actions of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of the United States when he bribed Chinese officials.
The alleged bribe was to centers on a 2021 event to unfreeze his Alameda Research-owned trading accounts, paying as much as $40 million in cryptocurrency.
The updated indictment by a federal grand jury in New York added to the list of charges against him including fraud, commodities fraud, and making unlawful political contributions, with a total of 13 charges added to his case.
SBF's team was trying to recover the frozen assets which were named under Alameda and were successful in having these crypto holdings accessible to them after the alleged bribe.
Sam Bankman-Fried Pleads 'Not Guilty' on Latest Charges
Following the new indictment and charges against Bankman-Fried, the executive yet again pleaded "not guilty" to the complaints against him, regarding the alleged bribe to recover Alameda's holdings. SBF's team aims to submit a petition to avoid getting prosecuted for all counts filed against the former CEO after his extradition, to mainly focus on those that were presented before.
According to CNBC's report, this centers on the latest charge against SBF's alleged bribes to Chinese officials to unfreeze Alameda's trading accounts. Bankman-Fried arrived an hour early at the courthouse where he presented his plea to the court.
The latest indictment hearing presented the thirteen counts of illegal activities under SBF's direction, with the former CEO staying mum throughout the entire event, only speaking when entering his plea.
Binance's CFTC Violation on Crypto Derivatives
Another cryptocurrency company is facing a significant lawsuit in its actions towards its operations in the country, with Binance facing new charges from the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). This centers on the Commodities Exchange Act which it allegedly violated after continuing its operations of unregistered crypto derivatives in the country.
CEO Changpeng Zhao is also charged with a civil complaint from the court, with written records that point toward the illicit actions that were carried out. Allegedly, Binance urged Americans to use VPNs to continue their access to these crypto derivatives to avoid detection by regulatory agencies and ensure operations run smoothly.
