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Jailed crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried said he would 'absolutely' welcome a presidential pardon from Donald Trump
22:21, 08 Jun 2026 Updated 15:21, 10 Jun 2026
A disgraced crypto mogul has said he would "absolutely" welcome a presidential pardon from Donald Trump , in a phone interview from behind bars.
Sam Bankman-Fried, 34, is serving a 25-year prison sentence after a jury found he defrauded customers and investors of billions of dollars while running FTX, once the world ’s second-largest crypto exchange.
Asked by Fox Business over the phone last Wednesday whether he wanted a presidential pardon, Bankman-Fried said "absolutely", adding: "It would be, obviously, you know, ultimately up to the president, not up to me."
Asked whether he or his parents had been in contact with Trump, he replied: "I haven’t myself," adding that he "can’t speak for" his family members.
FTX collapsed into bankruptcy in November 2022, just months after it appeared to be thriving, backed by a Super Bowl advert and celebrity endorsements.
In March, federal appeals court judges in Manhattan were sceptical of claims by Bankman-Fried's lawyer that his fraud conviction was unfair and should be overturned.
Attorney Alexandra Shapiro told a three-judge panel of the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals that the judge at Bankman-Fried's 2023 trial left the defence "cut off by the knees" by limiting the evidence it could present, particularly regarding legal advice he had received.
"Mr Bankman-Fried’s trial was fundamentally unfair because the jury only got to hear one side of the story," Shapiro said.
However, Circuit Judge Barrington D Parker said his reading of the trial record found "very substantial evidence" supporting the conviction.
"Are you seriously suggesting to us that if your client had been able to testify about the role that attorneys played in preparing these various documents, the not-guilty verdicts would have rolled in?" Parker asked.
His scepticism was shared by fellow judges Eunice C Lee and Maria Araujo Kahn.
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Government attorney Nathan Rehn said the trial was fair and the evidence against Bankman-Fried was overwhelming.
He noted that three of the four people who knew Bankman-Fried was illegally using billions of dollars in customer deposits to fund investments and political donations testified against him at trial.
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Read the full article at Daily Mirror →📄Source document: Federal Appeals Court
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Daily MirrorParty-alignedCenter13 days agoSam Bankman-Fried, a jailed cryptocurrency entrepreneur serving a 25-year sentence for fraud related to the collapse of FTX, stated he would 'absolutely' welcome a presidential pardon from Donald Trump during a phone interview. He noted that any such decision would ultimately rest with the president. The article also mentions that FTX collapsed into bankruptcy in November 2022 and that a recent appeal regarding his conviction was met with skepticism by a federal appeals court.
Bias read (Center): The article presents factual information without overtly biased language or selective sourcing. It reports directly on statements made by Sam Bankman-Fried and references legal proceedings against him without taking a clear stance on the issue. The framing remains neutral, focusing on the facts of F
Official sources cited
- court Federal Appeals Court
Financial TimesParty-aligned🔒Center13 days agoSam Bankman-Fried, former CEO of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, is seeking a presidential pardon from Donald Trump. He was sentenced to three years in prison for misappropriating billions of dollars in customer funds.
Bias read (Center): The article presents factual information without overtly biased language or selective sourcing. It reports on an individual's legal situation and actions without taking a stance on the matter.
BBC News (World)State / PublicCenter13 days agoSam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX and Alameda Research who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for fraud, has applied for a presidential pardon from Donald Trump. He has not requested a commutation but is appealing his sentence and claims innocence. The White House has not commented on the application.
Bias read (Center): The article presents factual information without overtly biased language or selective sourcing. It reports on the legal actions taken by Sam Bankman-Fried and mentions his claim of innocence without taking a stance. The article does not favor either side in the legal or political aspects of the case
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