Sam Bankman-Fried, the imprisoned founding father of the collapsed cryptocurrency change FTX, has filed a proper clemency petition with the U.S. Division of Justice’s Workplace of the Pardon Lawyer, requesting a presidential pardon from President Donald Trump whereas serving a 25-year jail sentence for fraud and conspiracy.
The applying, now listed as pending in DOJ information, comes as Bankman-Fried pursues a simultaneous attraction of his conviction and sentence.
In a telephone interview with FOX Enterprise correspondent Susan Li — his first on-record media look from behind bars — Bankman-Fried made clear he needs Trump’s intervention. “I assume that you would want a pardon from the White House?” Li requested. “Absolutely,” Bankman-Fried replied. “It would be, obviously, ultimately up to the president, not up to me.”
When pressed on whether or not his dad and mom or relations had been lobbying the administration on his behalf, Bankman-Fried supplied solely a deflection: “I can’t speak for them.”
The pardon software is listed on the DOJ’s clemency case standing portal as a request for a “pardon after completion of sentence.” The workplace confirmed that particulars of ongoing evaluations should not disclosed to the general public.
President Donald Trump has stated that he won’t pardon former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, rejecting clemency for the convicted government.
Bankman-Fried’s failure at FTX
Bankman-Fried was sentenced on March 28, 2024, to 25 years in federal jail after a New York jury discovered him responsible on all seven felony counts in November 2023, together with two counts of wire fraud and 5 counts of conspiracy.
Prosecutors demonstrated that he misused billions of {dollars} in buyer deposits to fund dangerous bets at his affiliated hedge fund, Alameda Analysis, whereas additionally financing political donations and actual property purchases.
The court docket discovered that FTX prospects misplaced $8 billion, fairness traders in FTX misplaced $1.7 billion, and lenders to Alameda Analysis misplaced $1.3 billion. Decide Lewis Kaplan ordered an $11 billion forfeiture.
Regardless of the decision, Bankman-Fried refuses to characterize his conduct as theft.
“I didn’t steal user funds either,” he advised Li. “Customers have been repaid now 170% or so on their deposits. It’s one of the very few cases where the platform was over-collateralized, where customers were more than made whole. And yet there was not just a criminal investigation, but a prosecution and dozens of years of sentence.”
He pointed to the restoration of cryptocurrency markets throughout the FTX chapter course of as the rationale buyer payouts exceeded unique deposit quantities.
“It’s a great disservice to them that it has taken three years,” he added.
The push for clemency follows a months-long sample of public statements from Bankman-Fried that mirror Trump’s positions.
Writing via prison-approved communications, he has praised Trump’s choice to strike Iran, credited the president with rescuing the Securities and Alternate Fee via the appointment of Paul Atkins to exchange Gary Gensler, and highlighted falling gasoline costs underneath the present administration.
The method mirrors a political repositioning technique Bankman-Fried had deployed earlier than — after being seen as a Democratic mega-donor in 2020, he appeared on Tucker Carlson’s program in 2025 to sign alignment with conservative audiences.
The bid locations Bankman-Fried alongside a wave of high-profile defendants who’ve obtained clemency from Trump since his return to workplace.
Trump pardoned Silk Highway founder Ross Ulbricht, former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, and the co-founders of BitMEX.
The FTX collapse started in November 2022 after CoinDesk reported on stability sheet considerations linking FTX to Alameda Analysis, triggering a buyer run that uncovered an $8 billion hole within the change’s accounts.
Key FTX insiders, together with former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang, testified in opposition to Bankman-Fried after pleading responsible and cooperating with federal prosecutors.
