Sam Bankman-Fried Withdraws Retrial Motion, Still Seeks New Judge
The former FTX chief has abandoned his bid for a new trial while his appeal proceeds, but stopped short of dropping his request that the presiding judge be replaced.
Sam Bankman-Fried has withdrawn his motion for a new trial, according to court filings dated 22 April 2026, while maintaining a separate request that the judge who presided over his 2023 conviction be recused from ongoing bankruptcy proceedings. The former FTX chief, currently serving a 25-year sentence for fraud and money laundering, told the court he consulted with his parents and legal team before submitting the prison-originated filing.
The about-face arrives as Bankman-Fried's appeal of his original conviction remains pending before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. His lawyers had argued that a new trial was warranted, citing what they described as judicial errors during the original proceeding. That argument now appears to be on hold, though the former crypto executive indicated he may revive the request once the appellate court issues its ruling.
What remains live is his motion for a new judge. Bankman-Fried has targeted Judge Lewis Kaplan, who oversaw the trial that ended with his conviction on seven counts. The former FTX founder has accused Kaplan of bias, a claim the judge has rejected. Legal analysts say recusal motions of this type are rarely granted, particularly when, as here, the underlying conduct being examined predates the bankruptcy proceedings at the centre of the current dispute.
The prison filing presented an unusual procedural wrinkle. Court documents indicate Bankman-Fried insisted he was the "ultimate author of the documents" despite submitting them from behind bars — a detail that drew scepticism from observers given the complexity of the legal filings involved. His parents, both Stanford law professors, have been central figures in his defence since the collapse of FTX in late 2022.
The case raises familiar questions about how high-profile financial fraud prosecutions unfold in the federal system. Bankman-Fried's conviction centred on the misappropriation of customer funds from FTX, which filed for bankruptcy in November 2022 after a run on its deposits. Prosecutors described a deliberate scheme to use client money to cover debts at Alameda Research, Bankman-Fried's trading arm. The defence countered that the exchange would have survived had markets not turned against it.
The timing of the withdrawal matters procedurally. By stepping back from the new-trial motion now, Bankman-Fried preserves the option to refile after the Second Circuit rules on his appeal. That appellate proceeding challenges both his conviction and the admissibility of certain evidence at trial — issues that, if resolved in his favour, could give him stronger grounds for a retrial. His legal team appears to be structuring a sequenced approach: resolve the appeal first, then reassess whether a new trial motion becomes viable.
For creditors recovering funds from FTX's bankruptcy estate, the procedural chess matters less than the bottom line. The process of returning assets to customers is ongoing, and the pace of distributions does not depend on the outcome of these motions. What the filings do confirm is that Bankman-Fried remains engaged with his legal options from prison, and that his family continues to play a direct role in shaping his strategy — a pattern visible throughout the original trial as well.
This article followed the CoinDesk and CoinTelegraph wire reports on Bankman-Fried's court filings. Monexus did not attend the hearing; all procedural details derive from those two sources.