Sam Bankman-Fried has formally asked President Donald Trump for a pardon, adding a new political turn to one of the largest crypto fraud cases in US history.
Good to Know
The request is now official. Records from the US Department of Justice Office of the Pardon Attorney list a 2026 clemency request from Sam Bankman-Fried as pending. The filing is described as a request for a “pardon after completion of sentence.”
Bankman-Fried is serving 25 years in federal prison after his 2023 fraud conviction. Prosecutors said he misused billions of dollars in customer funds at FTX and Alameda Research before FTX collapsed into bankruptcy in November 2022.
The White House declined to comment, according to reports. Trump has already said publicly that he does not plan to pardon Bankman-Fried, telling The New York Times in January that he had “no intention of pardoning” him.
The formal application follows an earlier effort to reach people close to Trump. The New York Times reported in March 2025 that Bankman-Fried had spoken with a lawyer tied to Trump, contacted Washington lobbyists and appeared in an interview with Tucker Carlson. Crypto lobbyists gave the effort a “near zero” chance at the time.
The pardon request also comes after Trump issued a wide range of pardons and commutations during his second term. DOJ records describe the Office of the Pardon Attorney as the body that assists the president with executive clemency, including pardons, commutations, remission of fines and reprieves.
A presidential pardon can remove some legal consequences of a federal conviction, but it does not erase the facts of the conviction or automatically end related civil and financial disputes.