Sam Bankman-Fried charged with allegedly paying $40 million bribe to China

Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the failed cryptocurrency platform FTX, was charged with allegedly paying $40 million in bribes to one or more Chinese government officials, according to an indictment unsealed Tuesday.

Manhattan federal prosecutors charged Bankman-Fried with directing money to Chinese authorities to unfreeze more than $1 billion in accounts from his hedge fund, Alameda Research.

After the alleged bribe payment was sent around November 2021, the accounts were unfrozen, the indictment obtained by Reuters states.

Bankman-Fried is now facing 13 charges, including ones related to money laundering and wire fraud. His next court hearing is scheduled for Thursday.