FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried charged with bribing Chinese officials over Alameda accounts

Sam Bankman-Fried, disgraced co-founder of failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX ( FTT-USD ), is facing yet another criminal charge - this time, it's for bribing Chinese government officials. This is in addition to the 12 charges that Bankman-Fried is already facing, including fraud and unlawful political contributions . The new charge, which was added by a federal grand jury in Manhattan, accused Bankman-Fried of authorizing the transfer of $40M in crypto intended for one or more Chinese officials. The transfer was aimed at convincing the officials to unfreeze accounts at FTX sister firm Alameda Research, which held more than $1B in crypto, according the latest indictment . Bankman-Fried allegedly sought to regain access to the assets held in those accounts in 2021 to fund trading activity. Earlier this year, Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to eight criminal charges in federal court. He is slated to go on trial in October. Other members of his inner circle have also pleaded guilty, while former FTX executives have hired lawyers to discuss cooperating with prosecutors . More on Crypto Clampdown Binance, CEO CZ sued by CFTC over regulatory breaches FDIC chair to explain move to extend insurance at SVB, Signature Coinbase: All's Not Well(s)