Sam Bankman-Fried celebrates 33rd birthday in prison

Former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried, sentenced to 25 years in 2024 for his role in misusing customer funds, gave another interview from prison before his 33rd birthday.

Speaking to right-wing political commentator Tucker Carlson on March 5, Bankman-Fried talked about prison life since his sentencing and his thoughts on crypto regulation in the United States. Though Carlson did not directly ask the former FTX CEO whether he expected to receive a pardon from US President Donald Trump, SBF seemed to warm to some Republican ideas during the interview.

According to SBF, he did not call on any US lawmakers to assist him in 2022 amid pending criminal charges, claiming that he “didn’t want to do something inappropriate.” Though Bankman-Fried was a well-known Democratic donor, including to former US President Joe Biden’s campaign, he said he had likely contributed as much to Republicans.

“I had as a good relationship, probably better, with Republicans in DC as with Democrats by that point in time, although that wasn’t what the public thought,” said Bankman-Fried, referring to the aftermath of the FTX collapse.