Sam Bankman-Fried Allegedly Bribed a Chinese Official
The Facts
Already facing several federal indictments, founder and former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX and hedge fund Alameda Research Sam Bankman-Fried has been charged with successfully bribing one PRC government official with a $40M payment in 2021.
Federal prosecutors say that "in or about 2021," the purpose of the bribe was to "influence and induce one or more Chinese officials to unfreeze certain Alameda trading accounts containing over $1 billion in cryptocurrency."
The Spin
Narrative A
The ever-expanding Sam Bankman-Fried saga represents the ugliness of America's corporate-government. The man who seemingly bought off American politicians has now been found to have potentially bought influence within the PRC government. Though he's currently sitting comfortably in his parents' Palo Alto, California home on a $250M bond, maybe these corrupt leaders will actually punish their former friend.
Narrative B
According to the US government's account, Bankman-Fried's corruption was baked into FTX's processes from the very start of its operation. Whether he was dishonest, deluded, or both, the government needs to conduct the most thorough investigation and prosecution of this fallen crypto tycoon.
