Bankman-Fried Points to Law Firm Advice as FTX Fraud Defense (1)

FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried is laying the groundwork for a defense that argues he relied upon the advice of a prominent Silicon Valley law firm in taking many of the actions for which he is now facing fraud charges.

Bankman-Fried’s defense lawyers on Tuesday asked the judge overseeing his criminal case to force prosecutors to hand over documents given to the government by former FTX law firm Fenwick & West. If the government doesn’t agree, Bankman-Fried wants permission to subpoena the Mountain View, California-based firm.

Sam Bankman-Fried

Photographer: Angus Mordant/Bloomberg

The legal advice Fenwick & West provided to FTX and Bankman-Fried between 2017 ...