Odaily Planet Daily News SBF plans to argue that he previously provided funds to FTX and Alameda executives, set Signal messages to be automatically deleted, and set up a series of North American entities as acts of "good faith" because he followed the lawyer's instructions Advice, including that of law firm Fenwick & West.
SBF's defense team published a letter on Wednesday detailing its proposed "counsel's advice" strategy, saying he would provide evidence that in-house counsel and law firm Fenwick & West were "involved in reviewing and approving decisions related to these matters." .
“The evidence that the defendant relied on counsel is relevant to the question of intent and is not limited to circumstances where the defense can demonstrate that the defendant formally sought counsel advice, accepted legal advice, and followed the advice provided,” the letter stated. (CoinDesk)
Earlier news, SBF again pleaded not guilty to fraud and money laundering charges related to the FTX crash last year when it appeared in court on Tuesday.
SBF was arraigned in the Southern District of New York after a new indictment accused it of using client funds to buy personal real estate, make campaign contributions and more. Those charges came from the original indictment, filed last December, but the campaign-contribution-finance charge was added to others after prosecutors said they could not definitively bring charges because of treaty obligations with the Bahamas.
Prosecutors are asking the court to order SBF's defense team to share more information about his proposed "counsel's advice" defense.