The Bahamas Supreme Court says Sam Bankman-Fried has the right to be heard before the island nation agrees to some of the charges brought by US authorities against the disgraced FTX founder.
Bankman-Fried now faces charges not covered in the original indictment that served as the basis for his extradition.
According to court documents, Bankman-Fried claims he has the right to challenge charges that were not present at his extradition before the Bahamas can agree to prosecute him for additional crimes.
In a new ruling, Judge Loren Klein of the Supreme Court of the Bahamas ruled in favor of Bankman-Fried’s bid to contest the charges.
“Leave is granted to the plaintiff to initiate judicial review proceedings.”
Klein says Bankman-Fried should not be deprived of his right to a fair trial amid the possibility of a higher sentence and longer jail time if found guilty of the additional charges.
“If the plaintiff is correct in his claim that he has the right to be heard, any decision to grant consent without allowing him to file protests would deprive him of the procedural safeguards arising from the combination of the Treaty and the law with respect to making such a decision.”
Judge Klein says the Bahamian country’s secretary of state and attorney general should not allow U.S. prosecutors to pursue additional charges pending the conclusion of legal proceedings.
“I grant the order sought in paragraph (ix) of the petition that the defendants be restrained from granting consent to the U.S. request to try the plaintiff for additional crimes that were not the basis for the extradition of the claimant pending the hearing and determination of the claimant’s claim for judicial review.”
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Featured image: Shutterstock/One Time/Praveen Nanu
