SBF withdraws motion for retrial but leaves option open for after appeal ruling

Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of collapsed crypto exchange FTX, has withdrawn his request for a retrial over doubt he would get a fair hearing in a letter to the judge overseeing his case.

Bankman-Fried, who is serving a 25-year sentence after being convicted on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy tied to FTX’s 2022 collapse, said he may renew the motion after his direct appeal and a related request for reassignment are decided.

The motion for a new trial was filed by his mother, Barbara Fried, claiming new evidence in the case would justify a reset.

Bankman-Fried said he largely drafted the motion himself while detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, with limited assistance.

Although clarifying he is the “author of the letter” to the judge, he did consult his lawyers and his parents “since it concerns them both,” he said.

“They made editorial and organizational suggestions, some of which I incorporated into the motion,” Bankman-Fried said. “They also helped print it, as I no longer had access to a word processor. I also shared earlier drafts with a New York attorney who was originally hired to represent me on the Rule 33 Motion before I decided to represent myself; they had no significant input into the ultimate motion.”

A Rule 33 motion is a formal request to a federal court for a new trial based on new evidence or in the interest of justice.

The appeal is currently before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. During oral arguments in November, his attorney, Alexandra Shapiro, argued that the trial was “fundamentally unfair,” including limits placed on what Bankman-Fried could present to the jury.