Former FTX CEO and founder Sam Bankman-Fried has filed a preliminary ruling to dismiss 10 of the 13 charges against him, according to court documents.
Bankman-Fried is under house arrest at his parents’ home in Palo Alto, California, ahead of his expected trial in October for charges including wire fraud, conspiracy to launder money and conspiracy to misuse customer funds.
He also faces lawsuits from the SEC and CFTC on similar charges, as well as from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York for allegedly bribing Chinese officials “at least $40 million.”
In Monday’s filing, Bankman-Fried’s attorneys at law firm Cohen & Gresser seek to dismiss the conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank fraud allegations.
The lawyers are also trying to dismiss some other charges, including allegations of bribery and political contributions.
However, his lawyers did not appeal three charges: conspiracy to commit securities fraud, securities fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
In January, Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to eight counts of US criminal charges. The decision, in addition to this pretrial motion, could turn into a lengthy legal battle.
In late December, FTX’s co-founder and former CTO Gary Wang, and Alameda Research’s CEO Caroline Ellison both pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges related to the collapse of FTX. The two face civil penalties from the SEC and CFTC in addition to the criminal charges.
Wang and Ellison plan to cooperate with prosecutors and will be key witnesses given their close ties to both Bankman-Fried and FTX and its affiliate Alameda crypto hedge fund.