Convicted FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has officially submitted a formal request for a presidential pardon from President Donald Trump, according to records listed on the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Pardon Attorney website.
DOJ records indicate the request for “pardon after completion of sentence” was submitted in 2026 and is currently pending.
The White House declined to comment.
Bankman-Fried is currently serving a 25-year federal prison sentence after he was convicted of fraud charges in 2023 for orchestrating a scheme that misused billions of dollars in customer funds at FTX and its affiliated trading firm, Alameda Research. FTX filed for bankruptcy in November 2022.
Trump said in a January interview with The New York Times that he has “no intention of pardoning” high-profile figures including Bankman-Fried. Trump has issued more than 1,400 pardons and commutations during his second term, including more than 1,200 Jan. 6-related cases.
The formal application follows months of behind-the-scenes efforts. The New York Times reported in March 2025, citing six people with knowledge of the matter, that Bankman-Fried had spoken with a lawyer affiliated with Trump, reached out to Washington lobbyists, and sat for an interview with Tucker Carlson in an effort to appeal to the president. Crypto lobbyists at the time gave him a “near zero” chance of success.
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