Sam Bankman-Fried has formally asked President Donald Trump for a pardon in connection with the 2022 collapse of the crypto exchange FTX. The request was filed through the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of the Pardon Attorney.
The Pardon Application
The submission places Bankman-Fried's case before the same office that handles all federal clemency requests. The Office of the Pardon Attorney reviews applications and makes recommendations to the president, who has sole authority to grant pardons.
Neither Bankman-Fried nor his legal team has commented publicly on the filing. The Justice Department declined to discuss the matter. The application itself is not a public document, so its specific arguments remain unknown.
Connection to FTX's Collapse
The petition is tied directly to the November 2022 collapse of FTX, once one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges. The company's sudden failure left thousands of customers unable to access funds and triggered a wave of regulatory scrutiny across the industry.
Bankman-Fried has been at the center of the fallout since the exchange imploded. His request for a presidential pardon is the most direct effort yet to alter the legal outcome of that collapse.
The timing of the petition — filed during Trump's presidency — is notable. Presidents have historically used their pardon power for a range of cases, including financial crimes.
The matter now rests with the pardon attorney's office. There is no set timeline for a decision.
