Note that in the case of the FTX cryptocurrency platform collapse, not only Sam Bankman-Fried is responsible, but also the celebrities who promoted the exchange. Among them, basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal has distinguished himself by appearing on the list of those responsible for the class action. Since the beginning of 2023 he actively avoided meeting with the lawyers who tried to serve him the documents of the proceedings, and did it purposefully.

In mid-April they managed to do so, so the case seemed to be moving forward. However, as it has now emerged, the prosecution simply threw the documents into Shaquille’s car beforehand. So now the sports star’s lawyers are trying to prove that this was done illegally.

What is happening seriously affects the reputation of the former basketball player. Yet he actively promoted FTX in advertisements even though the exchange itself was a grand fraudulent scheme. However, Shaquille, thanks to his appearance in the commercials, had in any case attracted new users to the platform. And now he must answer for it.

Will Sam Bunkman-Fried go to jail?

Sam’s lawyers have asked US District Judge Lewis Kaplan to overturn a charge of campaign finance violations. They said the Bahamas government failed to sign the relevant document when it approved the extradition of their “client” to the US in December. Prosecutors also allegedly failed to obtain proper consent from the Bahamian authorities.

Mr Bunkman-Fried only agreed to stand trial on the charges contained in the original indictment, on which the Bahamas government agreed to the extradition.


As a reminder, Sam Bankman-Fried was originally arrested specifically in the Bahamas, where the crypto-exchange FTX was registered. However, he spent a few days in Fox Hill Prison, which was not the best conditions, after which the former entrepreneur was extradited to the US. Sam's trial is taking place in the States and the main criminal trial will also take place.

The latter is scheduled for October 2023, but in fact it may yet be postponed. This came to light at the beginning of March, when Bankman-Fried's lawyers sent a letter to Judge Lewis Kaplan. It indicated that lawyers were waiting for a "substantial amount" of evidence to arrive, which may require more time to process the data.


A few weeks after FTX filed for bankruptcy, Bankman-Fried was arrested in Nassau, according to Bloomberg sources. For several years, he was the head of one of the industry’s biggest crypto exchanges, which actually turned out to be one huge fraudulent scheme.

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Following a request by federal prosecutors in Manhattan for the Bahamas authorities to arrest Sam, the latter has agreed to a simplified extradition to the US. However, his lawyers argue that he has retained his rights under the extradition law. In other words, the lawyers are trying to “beat out” the court for Sam’s indulgence through inaccuracies in the law.

According to the lawyers, the Bahamas government signed a warrant to extradite Bunkman-Fried, but it did not include count 8 – a charge of violating the campaign finance law. Sam was charged under this count when he arrived in the US. Prosecutors have since announced two additional indictments in the case.

Here’s the relevant legal rejoinder to what’s going on. The quote is quoted by CryptoSlate.

Since Mr Bankman-Fried’s return to the country, the original indictment has been amended not once, but twice. New and unrelated charges were inappropriately added without first obtaining the express consent of the Bahamas government.

In other words, lawyers have found a reason to pick on the charges against the former FTX executive. And it's quite funny, because according to the US Attorney's Office, Sam Bankman-Fried and his colleagues created a special "hole" in the exchange FTX, which allowed him to withdraw the assets of users without the knowledge of the latter. The money was used for the personal needs of representatives of FTX and the related trading company Alameda Research. For example, to purchase real estate, finance politicians' election campaigns and secure trading positions.

What is happening is reminiscent of another attempt by Bankman-Fried to improve his reputation ahead of his main trial, which is tentatively scheduled for the autumn of 2023. Apparently, the former entrepreneur himself will not be able to dodge serious punishment for his actions as head of the trading platform FTX. Experts believe that he is likely to end up in prison, and a serious one at that.


We believe that Sam Bunkman-Fried deserves the harshest punishment for his activities - and it does not matter at what point the new charges against him were announced. Above all, the FTX founder's activities have resulted in billions of dollars in losses for users of the platform, many of whom have lost an important part of their capital. On top of that, Sam has shaken investor confidence in decentralised digital assets, which have nothing to do with Bankman-Fried's own fraudulent scheme. Naturally, all of this needs to be accounted for - also to prevent similar situations from happening again and to discourage similar negative characters.