Sam Bankman-Fried, the convicted founder of FTX and architect of a massive financial fraud, has officially requested a 'pardon after completion of sentence' from President Donald Trump, aiming to restore his civil liberties post-imprisonment.
Sam Bankman-Fried, 34, the former crypto billionaire and founder of the disgraced FTX exchange, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2024 for orchestrating one of the largest financial frauds in history, has officially asked President Donald Trump for a pardon. This application, for a 'pardon after completion of sentence,' would not erase Bankman-Fried's conviction but would restore certain civil liberties, such as the right to vote or serve on a jury, and lift barriers to licensing, employment, housing, or education after he serves his prison sentence. Once a significant donor to Democratic campaigns, Bankman-Fried has recently posted support for the Trump administration on social media and stated he 'absolutely' wants a presidential pardon. The Justice Department's website indicates he submitted the request sometime in 2026. However, a White House spokesperson pointed to a January interview where Trump said he would not pardon Bankman-Fried. Bankman-Fried's empire collapsed in 2022 when FTX filed for bankruptcy after prosecutors alleged he secretly diverted billions of customer funds to his crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research, for risky investments, political donations, and real estate. He was convicted of multiple counts of fraud and conspiracy, including wire fraud and securities fraud, and was ordered to forfeit over $11 billion in assets. The sentencing judge, Lewis Kaplan, noted a non-trivial risk that Bankman-Fried could 'do something very bad in the future'.
