Federal Judge Ronnie Abrams of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York formally withdrew from adjudicating the case, just one day after Bankman-Fried was released from custody to live with his parents in their Palo Alto home while awaiting trial on eight criminal charges including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and violations of federal campaign finance laws.
Greg D. Andres, Abrams’ husband, is a partner at the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell, which advised FTX in 2021, according to Abrams’ order. Even though Andres did not personally advise FTX, Abrams chose to withdraw from the case “to avoid any possible conflict, or the appearance of one.”
The order also stated that Davis Polk & Wardwell previously represented parties “that may be averse to FTX and Defendant Bankman-Fried,” though Andres allegedly did not.
Bankman-trial Fried’s will now be presided over by a new judge from the Southern District of New York. A timetable for making that decision has not yet been established.
(Reporting by Shikha Singh, Editing by Kapil Rajyaguru)
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