Bankman-Fried hails Trump’s pardon of ex-Honduran leader while eyeing his own

Former FTX chief executive Sam Bankman-Fried took to social media on Tuesday in response to President Donald Trump’s pardon of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, writing, “few are more deserving than him.” 

The comment comes as Bankman-Fried himself seeks a pardon from Trump. Convicted in 2023 on multiple fraud and conspiracy charges for stealing billions from his now-defunct crypto exchange, FTX, he is serving a 25-year prison sentence while appealing his conviction. His X bio notes that the posts are his words, but shared by a friend.

“I’m so glad Juan Orlando is free—few are more deserving than him,” Bankman-Fried said on X. Hernández was reportedly pardoned Tuesday after being sentenced last year to 45 years in prison for drug trafficking. 

Just a few days ago, Bankman-Fried said he had met Hernández.  In a post on X, he referred to him as one of the kindest and most dedicated people he has ever met.

Former FTX CEO seeks clemency amid 25-year prison sentence

Last month, Bankman-Fried’s case went before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit as the former executive sought a new trial. The court is unlikely to issue an opinion on the possibility of a retrial until well into next year. 

Bankman-Fried’s parents, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, have also been pushed for a pardon following other attempts to pardon high-profile crypto figures — the latest being former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao.

Bankman-Fried’s parents, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, have reportedly been exploring the possibility of securing a presidential pardon for their son from President Donald Trump.

The two, both professors at Stanford Law School and part of FTX’s inner circle, are reportedly engaging with individuals connected to Trump’s inner circle, sources.

Still, Bankman-Fried’s chances of pardon seem slim. He was one of the largest donors to the Biden campaign in 2020, donating $5.2 million to defeat Trump at the time.

This allure for a pardon stems from Trump’s recent history of using his clemency powers to free widely supported individuals, such as Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao and Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht. Unlike Zhao and Ulbricht, however, Bankman-Fried lacks widespread public support, though he argues his sentence is excessively harsh, especially since most FTX customers have recovered their financial losses.

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Bankman-Fried’s FTX, formerly the world’s third-largest cryptocurrency exchange, went bankrupt in November 2022 after a report revealed that the platform’s sister concern, Alameda Research, was on shaky financial footing.

It was later discovered that Alameda used backdoor code to raid billions in customer funds from FTX — an arrangement helmed by Bankman-Fried and other Alameda founding members.

The ex-crypto kingpin was sentenced to 25 years in prison and ordered to forfeit $11 billion following convictions on seven counts of fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering.

Bankman-Fried’s recent comments come as he navigates a range of legal avenues. His case has recently been heard in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, where his lawyers are seeking a new trial. A decision is not due until well into next year, giving him few near-term options.

Still, the Hernández comments fit a pattern. Bankman-Fried has been increasingly online over the past few months, through intermediaries, returning to his version of events surrounding FTX’s collapse. He has said several times in post after post that the exchange was solvent when it filed for bankruptcy and that the existing estates are mishandling or withholding funds.

His renewed presence on X, in turn, embodies an even broader effort to challenge the prevailing narrative surrounding FTX’s collapse. As the bankruptcy proceedings continue and the court has jurisdiction over asset recoveries, Bankman-Fried has taken to social media to assert that customer losses were avoidable.

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