US lawmakers warn against presidential pardon for Sam Bankman-Fried

The former FTX CEO is currently serving a 25-year sentence after being found guilty on seven felony charges related to the misuse of customer funds.

Two US lawmakers on opposite sides of the political aisle are backing a resolution that “under no circumstances should Samuel [SBF] Bankman-Fried receive executive clemency, including a pardon or commutation.”

In a resolution to be introduced Wednesday, Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis and Democratic Senator Rubén Gallego warned that should US President Donald Trump grant SBF’s request for a pardon, it would “erase [his] conviction [...] weaken deterrence, and send a deeply damaging message that perpetrators of large-scale financial fraud can escape permanent accountability.” The resolution would be non-binding, as a US president’s pardon power is enshrined in the Constitution.

“[The US Senate] affirms that the 25-year sentence imposed upon Bankman-Fried reflects the extraordinary scale and deliberateness of his crimes, his lack of remorse, and the catastrophic harm inflicted upon millions of victims, and that such a sentence serves the interests of justice,” read the resolution.

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