FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried has filed an official request for a presidential pardon from President Donald Trump, adding a new legal development to one of the most closely watched financial crime cases in recent U.S. history.
The filing appears on the Justice Department's Office of the Pardon Attorney website, according to reporting from TechCrunch. Bankman-Fried is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence after being convicted in 2024 on multiple counts, including fraud and money laundering tied to the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
The pardon request was first reported by Bloomberg News, which noted that the submission is now officially listed in federal pardon tracking records. Bankman-Fried's legal team has not publicly detailed the grounds for the request in the available filing.
The case stems from the 2022 collapse of FTX, once among the largest crypto trading platforms in the world. Prosecutors argued that customer funds were misused through affiliated trading firm Alameda Research, leading to billions of dollars in losses. The conviction in 2024 concluded one of the most significant white-collar fraud trials in recent years.
Bankman-Fried is among other high-profile financial crime defendants seeking clemency during Trump's second term.
According to NBC News, a large share of pardons issued during Trump's current term have gone to individuals convicted of white-collar offenses, including bank fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. The report also found that more than half of individual pardons reviewed in its analysis involved financial crimes rather than violent offenses.
Trump's pardon record in recent years has also included individuals connected to political networks and donors. An investigation by The New York Times has documented cases where clemency decisions intersected with political fundraising activity, though the White House has previously said pardon decisions are based on multiple factors including rehabilitation and legal review.
The Justice Department's pardon system allows incarcerated individuals or their representatives to submit formal applications for executive clemency. These applications are reviewed before reaching the president, though the president retains constitutional authority to grant or deny pardons without external approval.
The filing also comes at a time when financial crime enforcement and digital asset regulation remain under scrutiny globally. Governments in the United States and Europe have tightened oversight of cryptocurrency markets following a series of exchange failures, bankruptcies, and fraud prosecutions. These developments have unfolded alongside broader geopolitical tensions affecting financial markets, including ongoing conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, which have increased attention on cross-border financial flows and regulatory enforcement.
Trump has issued hundreds of pardons during his second term, according to Reuters, with a significant portion granted to individuals convicted in connection with the January 6 Capitol riot as well as selected white-collar cases. The administration has defended its clemency decisions as part of a broader review process of federal sentencing outcomes.
Bankman-Fried's pardon request is now recorded in federal pardon tracking systems, marking a formal step in the clemency process.
