Sam Bankman-Fried files formal request for Trump pardon
Combination showing Former FTX CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried (L) and President Donald J. Trump.
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Sam Bankman-Fried has officially requested a presidential pardon from President Donald Trump, as indicated on the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Pardon Attorney website.
The co-founder of the now defunct FTX cryptocurrency exchange is currently serving a 25-year federal prison sentence for his involvement in a massive fraud scheme that misused billions of dollars in customer funds at FTX and its affiliated trading firm, Alameda Research.
The filing date is not specified, but DOJ records show that the request for a “pardon after completion of sentence” was submitted in 2026 and is currently pending.
In a January interview with The New York Times, Trump stated that he has no plans to pardon high-profile individuals, including Bankman-Fried.
During his second term, Trump has granted over 1,400 pardons and commutations, including more than 1,200 cases related to the events of January 6, 2021. In his first term, he issued a total of 238 pardons and commutations.
The White House has declined to provide a comment on this matter.
