
Sam Bankman-Fried and his legal team cannot blame FTX company lawyers for allegedly evaluating and approving decisions that he made as CEO, according to a weekend ruling by the court presiding over the disgraced founder's upcoming criminal trial-at least not at first.
In a 10-page memo released on Sunday, Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled that any 'advice of counsel' defense cannot be included in the defense's opening remarks, granting a request made by the prosecution to block such a move. To make his decision, Kaplan wrote, allowing the argument would risk prejudicing the jury from the beginning.
Prosecutors first tried to bar SBF from using the 'advice of counsel' strategy in an August 29 filing, claiming that the defense should not be allowed without establishing a clear connection to the alleged wrongdoing. It follows indications that SBF may pass blame onto the Fenwick & West law firm that advised FTX during his tenure.
Under an 'advice of counsel' defense, SBF's attorney would argue that he had not intended to break any laws as his lawyers at the time ensured him that he was within legal bounds during the rise of FTX.
Legal experts previously told Decrypt that any 'advice of counsel' argument would require a lot of documentation to be successful. However, Judge Kaplan issued an order barring SBF from getting access to those documents in June.
With another line of defense constricted, the once-feted mogul's options for defending himself in court have become even more limited. If convicted, SBF faces the possibility of ten years in prison for wire fraud, money laundering, and making illegal political donations.