In new charges unveiled in court documents, federal prosecutors accuse Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, with conspiring to violate anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
In the new charges, prosecutors allege the entrepreneur authorized a bribe of “at least $40 million” to get Chinese authorities to unblock trading accounts which the Chinese government had frozen.
In the new court filing, prosecutors ask U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan to schedule a court hearing so Bankman-Fried may be arraigned on the new, 13-count indictment.
The allegations are just the latest in a broader fraud case brought against the failed cryptocurrency magnate following the collapse of the FTX exchange.
Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to the previous eight count indictment. He is currently out on bond and living at his parent’s home while under house arrest, awaiting trial.
The updated indictment specifies that Bankman-Fried authorized the released of a $40 million payment to a Chinese official after Chinese authorities blocked accounts, which contained approximately $1 billion worth of cryptocurrency which belonged to his trading firm, Alameda.
Following the transfer, which was made to a private cryptocurrency wallet, the accounts were unblocked.
A spokesman for Bankman-Fried did not respond immediately to a request for comment.