Sam Bankman-Fried Applies For Trump Pardon In FTX Fraud Case

FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried has formally applied for a presidential pardon, opening a new political front more than two years after his conviction over the collapse of the crypto exchange.

The application moves his clemency push from speculation into the formal Justice Department process. The Office of the Pardon Attorney reviews petitions, investigates applications where needed, sends recommendations through the department and leaves the final decision to the president.

The request does not change Bankman-Fried’s criminal judgment by itself. He remains under a 25-year prison sentence tied to the collapse of FTX and Alameda Research, with a separate appeal and post-trial challenges still moving through the courts.

The pardon bid also lands months after Bankman-Fried sought a new trial in the FTX fraud case, arguing that additional testimony could weaken parts of the government’s case. That motion is separate from the pardon request, but both efforts show that his legal and political strategy is still active.

FTX Sentence Remains The Core Backdrop

Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison after a federal jury convicted him on fraud and conspiracy charges tied to FTX customer funds, Alameda Research’s access to exchange money and misleading statements to investors and lenders.

Federal prosecutors said the case involved billions of dollars in customer deposits routed into investments, political contributions, real estate and Alameda obligations. The sentence also included three years of supervised release and an $11 billion forfeiture order.

The broader FTX fallout has continued outside the criminal case. Former customers recently moved toward a $66 million settlement involving Fenwick & West, Prager Metis and other parties tied to the exchange’s collapse, while civil claims continue to test how far accountability can extend beyond insiders.

The SEC’s civil track has also reached former FTX and Alameda executives, with judgments against key insiders closing part of the regulatory case against figures who cooperated with prosecutors.

Pardon Push Adds Political Risk To The FTX Story

The timing makes the pardon request especially sensitive. President Donald Trump has used clemency power heavily in his second term, and crypto-linked pardon speculation has grown since Ross Ulbricht and Binance founder Changpeng Zhao became part of the broader clemency debate.

Bankman-Fried’s case is different because the FTX collapse remains one of the most damaging scandals in crypto history. Even with creditor repayments continuing through the bankruptcy process, many former users still view the criminal sentence as central to accountability.

FTX’s recovery process is also still active, with the next distribution record date set for June 16 and payments expected to begin on July 31. Those distributions help creditors recover value, but they do not erase the criminal findings behind Bankman-Fried’s conviction.