Judge Handling SBF Case Recuses Herself, Cites Conflict Of Interest

U.S. federal judge Ronnie Abrams who is assigned to handle the criminal trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, has recused herself from the case, citing a possible conflict of interest, a day after another judge allowed the former FTX CEO to walk out on a $250 million bail.

Industry watchers, critics and investors were not happy when the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York allowed Bankman-Fried to post bail and walk out of the federal court last week after he was extradited to the United States.

While the founder of the once second-largest crypto derivatives exchange in the world is not yet free from facing prosecution, the crypto space, or at least the majority of it, would like to see him in jail for the spectacular meltdown of his empire that wiped out billions in investors' funds.

Bankman-Fried's next court appearance is scheduled on Jan. 3, when he will enter a plea and be arraigned, but with the federal judge recusing herself, the Southern District of New York will have to select a new judge to handle the trial.

So far, no timeline has been established as to when the selection will take place, but the court usually assigns cases to judges in a random manner and only excludes them if there exists a possible conflict of interest.

Judge Abrams, in a court filing dated Dec. 23, revealed that her husband, Greg Andres, is a partner at the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell, which had advised FTX in 2021.

"It has come to the Court's attention that the law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, at which my husband is a partner, advised FTX in 2021, as well as represented parties that may be adverse to FTX and Defendant Bankman-Fried in other proceedings (or potential proceedings). My husband has no involvement in any of these representations. [...] Nonetheless, to avoid any possible conflict, or the appearance of one, the Court hereby recuses itself from this action," the filing read.

The federal judge's decision triggered speculations in the crypto space, with many questioning why she waited until now to recuse herself, considering that her husband's firm's link to FTX is not a piece of new information.

Others initially thought that the federal judge was the one who allowed Bankman-Fried to post a $250 million bail, but it was a different judge, Gabriel Gorenstein.

With the court now forced to find a new judge to handle Bankman-Fried's case, the Jan. 3 hearing will most likely be postponed.