Former FTX executive Ryan Salame asked a New York court to dismiss any indictment against his partner, Michelle Bond, related to campaign-finance violations.
His legal team has also requested the court vacate Bond’s conviction from May, arguing that prosecutors reneged on a promise made during plea negotiations.
Salame pleaded guilty in September to charges of conspiring to make unlawful political contributions and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. He was previously the co-CEO of FTX’s Bahamian subsidiary and worked closely with former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
Salame was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. He was scheduled for sentencing on August 29 but requested a delay until October 13 to undergo urgent surgery following a dog attack.
According to a letter submitted to Judge Lewis Kaplan, Salame was “mauled by a German Shepherd” on June 29.
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According to court documents, Salame’s lawyers claim that the U.S. government used plea negotiations to “threaten” Bond, the mother of his child, and promised to cease their investigation into her if Salame accepted a plea deal. However, the government has since resumed its investigation into Bond and is pursuing an indictment, which Salame’s legal team argues is a breach of the agreement.
“The government failed to abide by its word, recently resuming its investigation into Bond and pursuing an indictment against her,” the lawyers stated.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York has not commented on the matter, but Salame publicly shared the court document on social media platform X.
Salame was previously the co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets and worked closely with former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who was sentenced in March to nearly 25 years in prison after being convicted of fraud.
Interestingly, Bond launched a think tank called Digital Future in June, focused on digital assets and AI regulation. The organization plans to work with stakeholders and policymakers to push for policies that “enhance the integrity and stability of the financial marketplace.”
Salame managed wire deposits and fiat currency conversions for FTX customers, participated in political contributions using Alameda funds, and led charitable initiatives in The Bahamas. His attorneys argue that his involvement was primarily operational rather than central to the fraud perpetrated by Sam Bankman-Fried.
