By Ovunc Kutlu
ISTANBUL (AA) - Jury selection began Tuesday in a federal court in New York City for Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO and founder of the Bahamas-based cryptocurrency trading platform, FTX.
A total of 50 prospective jurors were asked questions by US District Judge Lewis Kaplan in an effort to have 12 jurors and six alternatives seated for the trial, which is expected to last up to six weeks.
US Justice Department prosecutors said in June they would try Bankman-Fried on eight counts brought against him last December after attorneys for the 31-year-old moved to dismiss superseding indictments in May.
In May, a court in the Bahamas, where Bankman-Fried was extradited from, blocked the local government from agreeing to additional charges on grounds related to the extradition agreement with the US.
After pleading not guilty in December to the eight original charges in the US District Court Southern District of New York, Bankman-Fried was released on $250 million bail with a stipulation that he remain in confinement at his parents’ home in Palo Alto, California.
The eight charges were conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud, standalone charges of conspiracy, securities fraud and wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the US, as well as campaign finance violations.
After its sudden implosion in late 2022, FTX recovered $7.3 billion in cash and assets, according to the company’s attorney in April.