Salame ex-FTX executive, to exercise Fifth Amendment privilege in relation to allegations of campaign finance schemes

Crypto News– Former FTX executive Ryan Salame intends to abstain from testifying in Sam Bankman-Fried‘s criminal trial regarding alleged illicit campaign donation schemes.

Salame ex-FTX executive, to exercise Fifth Amendment privilege in relation to allegations of campaign finance schemes

In a motion submitted on August 14th, U.S. federal prosecutors have indicated that Salame will not be able to provide testimony as a witness.

The filing states, “Salame is not available as a witness,” and further notes in a footnote: “Salame’s legal counsel has affirmed that if subpoenaed, Salame would assert his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. Court documents and Federal Elections Commission records suggest that both Nishad Singh and Salame might have been involved in fraudulent activities and violations of campaign finance regulations in February.

While Salame purportedly contributed over $24 million to Republican candidates and initiatives during the last election cycle, he has not faced criminal charges. Presently, he is engaged in discussions with federal prosecutors to potentially enter a guilty plea in connection with pending charges.

Prosecutors contend that Salame disclosed to a family member in November 2021 that Bankman-Fried’s objective was to “eliminate” lawmakers opposed to cryptocurrency, a mission that Salame was reportedly involved in by assisting in the allocation of political contributions.