(New York) Former FTX cryptocurrency exchange boss Sam Bankman-Fried had Chinese officials pay at least $40 million in bribes to regain access to frozen assets , say the American authorities in a document posted online on Tuesday.

On the basis of this information, the services of the Manhattan federal prosecutor, Damian Williams, added the charge of corruption to the charges which already weighed on “ SBF ”, whose trial is due to open in the fall.

According to the document filed on Tuesday, Mr. Bankman-Fried had these funds transferred in 2021 to get Chinese authorities to recover more than $1 billion in cryptocurrencies housed in accounts in the name of Alameda. , his investment company.

The American authorities do not indicate whether or not the approach made it possible to end the sanctions.

The second largest cryptocurrency exchange, FTX filed for bankruptcy in November, victim of a crisis of confidence and massive withdrawal requests from customers.

Mr. Bankman-Fried and other executives are accused of using FTX client accounts, without their knowledge, to fuel Alameda’s speculative operations.

Extradited to the United States from the Bahamas in December, “SBF” faces decades in prison. His trial is scheduled to begin in October in New York.

Also charged are two other former FTX and Alameda executives, Gary Wang and Caroline Ellison, who pleaded guilty to multiple counts and agreed to cooperate with US authorities, unlike Bankman-Fried, who disputes the charges. held against him.

A time credited with a personal fortune of 26 billion dollars, Sam Bankman-Fried is also accused of having invested, without authorization, funds from FTX clients in real estate in the Bahamas.

The Manhattan federal prosecutor also accuses him of making donations to Democratic political figures, including Joe Biden, during his presidential campaign.