Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman Fried (left) and President Donald J. Trump.
Reuters | Getty Images
Sam Bankman Fried has formally submitted a request for presidential pardon to President Donald Trump, according to information posted on the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Pardon Counsel website.
The co-founder of the now-defunct FTX cryptocurrency exchange is currently serving a 25-year federal prison sentence after being convicted of orchestrating a massive fraud scheme that misappropriated billions of dollars in customer funds at FTX and its affiliated trading company Alameda Research.
The exact date of the application is unclear, but according to Justice Department records, the application for “post-sentence pardon” was filed in 2026 and is currently pending.
In an interview with the New York Times in January, President Trump said he had “no intention” of pardoning several celebrities, including Bankman Fried.
According to the Justice Department, President Trump has issued 147 pardons or commutations so far in his second term, including cases related to January 6th. During his first term, he granted a total of 238 pardons and commutations.
The White House declined to comment on the matter. The Justice Department did not respond to requests for comment.
