- The Supreme Court of the Bahamas allowed him to challenge the deportation decision
- SBF lawyers seek dismissal of five counts that were not in the case at the time of extradition
- The US Department of Justice may remove them, but only after an assessment of the situation by the Foreign Ministry and the Attorney General of the Bahamas
Yesterday, June 13, the Supreme Court of the Bahamas allowed Sam Bankman-Fried to challenge the terms of his extradition. The SBF’s lawyers sought this in order to remove some of the charges, including bank fraud and bribery.
“Plaintiff is granted permission to commence legal proceedings. All of the grounds put forward by the complainant reveal a contentious claim with a real prospect of success,” said Chairwoman Lauren Klein.
She also emphasized that the authorities of the Bahamas cannot ratify additional charges until the process is completed. The SBF lawyer has already commented on the situation, noting that he will continue to achieve success in the Bahamas.
What’s the matter here?
At the end of May, Sam-Bankman Freed’s lawyers filed a motion to quash several counts. In particular, these are the same banking fraud and bribery.
They stated that the Ministry of Justice added them later, after the extradition. And this is not included in the conditions that Bankman-Fried agreed to when deported.
Initially, the Ministry of Justice expressed disagreement with this requirement, but then announced that it would drop five counts of the charge. But only if the authorities of the Bahamas do not mind.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prosecutor General’s Office, in turn, cannot approve the expanded list of charges until the SBF has the right to challenge it in court.
Thus, Sam Bankman-Fried got a real chance to decriminalize the case. If 5 of the 13 charges are removed, this will significantly “soften” the potential sentence.