Former FTX Exec Ryan Salame Has Now Dropped His Guilt Retraction

Key Points:

• Former FTX exec Ryan Salame has dropped his attempt to withdraw his guilty plea.
• Salame claimed that prosecutors had promised not to charge Bond in exchange for his guilty plea, but prosecutors denied these allegations.

According to Bloomberg, former FTX exec Ryan Salame, who is facing sentence for 7.5 years, has dropped his bid to retract his plea of ​​guilty.

Read more: Former FTX Exec Ryan Salame Seeks Delay in Prison Surrender Due to Surgery

Former FTX Exec Ryan Salame Withdraws Motion to Take Back His Plea of Guilt

The move is right after his partner, Michelle Bond, was charged with regards to violations in the sphere of campaign finance.

Former FTX exec Ryan Salame had earlier sought to withdraw his plea agreement on grounds that the prosecutors had promised not to prosecute Bond in return for his plea. The defendant was claiming that the plea agreement was obtained under false pretenses as Bond was indicted on August 22, for alleged violations related to her 2022 congressional campaign.

In a filing made August 29, Salame’s attorneys informed the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York that they were pulling the petition. They noted Bond may take up the issues involving Salame’s plea in her own case.

Court to Hear Case Despite Withdrawal of Plea Petition

Even with the withdrawal, Judge Lewis Kaplan will still go ahead and hear Salame’s original petition on September 12, and Salame must show up.

Prosecutors also disagreed with Salame’s arguments, saying there had been no agreement to halt any investigations into Bond. They described Salame’s claim as “demonstrably false,” adding that there was no deal in relation to Bond’s case.

For Salame, his fight in court remains operational, but he is set to commence serving the prison sentence on October 13 after a short delay because of complications in his health. Bond has pleaded not guilty to the charges and was released on a $1 million bail; she was also ordered, as done to Salame, to forfeit her travel documents.

Yet, Salame and Bond are reportedly still indicted for misappropriation of funds from FTX. Major legal issues are piling up for both related to the unsuccessful run that Bond made for Congress.