Federal prosecutors contend that that Sam Bankman-Fried paid $40 million in bitcoin as bribe to Chinese officials.

He gave a number of Chinese government officials a $40 million cryptocurrency bribe in exchange for them releasing assets held there by Alameda Research, a related crypto trading hedge fund.

The failing ex-CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange is now facing a total of 13 charges following the latest accusation from the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

This bribe's goal was to persuade one or more Chinese government officials to lift the Chinese government's freeze on a number of Alameda trading accounts that had more than $1 billion in cryptocurrency.

"We are hard at work and will remain so until justice is done," said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams to FOX Business previously.

In accordance to the indictment, Bankman-Fried and others acting at his discretion tried a variety of methods to unfreeze the Alameda accounts and regain access to the cryptocurrency after the Alameda accounts were placed on hold by Chinese authorities "as part of an ongoing investigation of a specific Alameda trading counterparty."

He has pleaded not guilty to the federal charges and is detained at his parents' California home until a trial in October.

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