SBF charged dropped on Bahamas objection

FROM PAGE A24 failed bid to dismiss this charge, the US Attorney’s Office for southern New York wrote: “In opposing the defendant’s motion, the government informed the court that the US had sought clarification from The Bahamas regarding whether this count was included in the defendant’s extradition. The court directed the parties to keep the court informed of the status of the government’s request for clarification.

“The government has been informed that The Bahamas notified the US earlier today that The Bahamas did not intend to extradite the defendant on the campaign contributions count. Accordingly, in keeping with its treaty obligations to The Bahamas, the government does not intend to proceed to trial on the campaign contributions count.”

The move comes with Mr Bankman-Fried seeking to dismiss multiple fraud, bribery and corruptionrelated charges stemming from FTX’s collapse on the grounds that the US has violated The Bahamas’ Extradition Act and treaty.

Although the charges involving breaches of US campaign finance laws have been dropped, he is still fighting those involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), plus bank fraud and operating an unlicensed money transmission business, should be struck out because they run afoul of key provisions in The Bahamas-US extradition treaty.

Mr Bankman-Fried and his legal advisers, in alleging that the federal authorities are doing an “end-run” around the treaty, have focused their arguments on its Article 14. Known as the “rule of specialty”, this stipulates that someone being extradited from The Bahamas “may only be detained, tried or punished” in the US “for the offence for which extradition was granted”, while setting out other criteria.

They are arguing that this article has been breached by the US authorities adding the charges FTX’s founder now wants dismissed AFTER he was extradited from The Bahamas in late 2022. Mr Bankman-Fried’s “warrant of surrender”, signed by Fred Mitchell, minister of foreign affairs and the public service, on December 21, 2022, makes no mention of any FCPA or US campaign finance law violations.

The warrant, which was among documents filed with the New York court, stipulated that as far as the Bahamian authorities were concerned Mr BankmanFried was being extradited to face two counts of mail