The U.S. Senate unanimously adopted Resolution S. Res. 772 on July 16, formally stating the chamber’s position that FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who is serving a 25-year prison sentence for misappropriating $8.0B in customer funds, should not receive executive clemency under any circumstances — neither a full pardon nor a commutation of his sentence.
“The resolution reaffirms our commitment to the rule of law and the integrity of the American financial system,” the Senate said in its statement.
Campaign for Release Fails Twice
The resolution marked Washington’s second public rejection of Bankman-Fried’s efforts within a year. In February, the White House ruled out the possibility of his early release after he published posts supporting Donald Trump and reportedly hoped to follow the path of pardoned Changpeng Zhao. Bankman-Fried accused Judge Lewis Kaplan of bias and expressed admiration for the sitting president.
At the time, a White House representative pointed to Trump’s January remarks, in which he said he would not pardon the former Democratic Party donor. Court documents also indicate that the disgraced financier planned to appear on Tucker Carlson’s show to announce that he was switching to the Republican camp, while a network of X accounts continues to promote his conservative messaging.
Appeal Fails to Change the Outcome
In June, a three-judge panel of the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan declined to overturn Bankman-Fried’s conviction. His legal team argued that Judge Kaplan had improperly prevented the defense from presenting evidence that FTX had sufficient funds to repay customers. Bankman-Fried maintained that position throughout the trial, acknowledging management mistakes while denying that he had stolen customer funds.
Federal prosecutors relied on testimony from three former senior executives who reached plea agreements with the government. They testified that, following Bankman-Fried’s instructions, they transferred customer funds to cover losses at Alameda Research.
In 2023, the jury found the FTX founder guilty on all seven criminal counts — two counts of fraud and five counts of conspiracy. When handing down the sentence in March 2024, Judge Kaplan said Bankman-Fried understood that his actions were illegal but misjudged the likelihood of being caught. Bankman-Fried is serving his sentence at a federal medium-security prison near Santa Barbara and will not be eligible for release before 2044.