Bankman-Fried Bribery Charges Raise Stakes Again for FTX Founder

Sam Bankman-Fried already was facing more than a century behind bars if convicted of all the charges outlined against him when he was arrested in December. The addition of a charge that he bribed Chinese officials once again raises the stakes for the FTX founder as he fights accusations that he orchestrated one of the largest financial frauds in US history.

Prosecutors on Tuesday unsealed a new indictment accusing Bankman-Fried of bribing Chinese officials with $40 million in cryptocurrency to unfreeze accounts in 2021. He now faces a total of 13 counts ranging from conspiracy to commit wire fraud to conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and faces more than 155 years in prison if convicted of all of them - although any sentence is likely to be much lower if he is found guilty.