Сэм Бэнкман-Фрид обвиняет Джо Байдена в мести за республиканские пожертвования Translation: Sam Bankman-Fried accuses Joe Biden of revenge for Republican donations

The founder of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), through a representative, declared that his arrest in 2022 was a response by the Biden administration to his donations to the Republican Party.

“I became a centrist and started donating tens of millions of dollars to Republicans. Just weeks later, the SEC, led by Gary Gensler, and the Biden Department of Justice came after me. I was detained just before a vote on the cryptocurrency legislation I was working on and the night before I was scheduled to testify before Congress,” noted SBF.

He reminded that at that time, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives expressed doubts about the coincidence of the timing of the arrest.

Politicians claimed that the detention appeared to be planned to “prevent Bankman-Fried from speaking out.” They also demanded Gensler provide internal communications related to the matter. However, he “conveniently lost” all messages, emphasized the FTX founder.

Earlier, it was revealed that the loss of communications from the former SEC chair between October 2022 and September 2023 occurred due to improper automation policies implemented by the IT department. This was when the regulator began investigations into several crypto firms, including Coinbase and Binance.

On October 14, conservative activist Laura Loomer reported the existence of a “large and well-funded” campaign aimed at persuading U.S. President Donald Trump to grant clemency to Bankman-Fried.

“A massive lobbying campaign has been launched to pardon this criminal. He will pretend to be a victim of Biden and the Democrats, even though he funded all leftist campaigns. Don’t fall for it,” she wrote.

Loomer’s tweet sparked lively discussions within the community, but there is no evidence to support her claims.

In January, media outlets reported that SBF’s parents were exploring options to seek his clemency. According to the Wall Street Journal, significant efforts were underway—strategic memos were being prepared, and external lawyers were being involved. However, journalists did not find any direct contacts with Trump’s campaign team.

The U.S. Department of Justice did not include the FTX founder in the list of candidates for clemency in 2025.

Participants in the crypto market also regard the chances of Bankman-Fried’s release as low, estimating the probability of such an event at 3% on Polymarket.

Recall that in March 2024, SBF was sentenced to 25 years in prison. The community deemed this sentence lenient. Bankman-Fried was found guilty on seven counts, including money laundering, fraud, and conspiracy.

In a conversation with journalist Tucker Carlson, the FTX founder stated that he believes the sentence was erroneous. According to him, the collapsed exchange could currently have “$100 billion in assets against $15 billion in liabilities” if it weren’t for the crash.