Prosecutors report FBI struggles with Sam Bankman-Fried's data-heavy laptop

Prosecutors have faced difficulties in analyzing data from a laptop obtained from Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, in their ongoing criminal case against him. During a hearing in Manhattan federal court on Thursday, Assistant US Attorney Nicholas Roos stated that it takes weeks to extract information from the device and even longer for the rest of the data, which needs to be taken apart virtually and extracted in pieces. The device's size has also prevented the Justice Department from conducting its privilege review to determine which data prosecutors can use in their case. Bankman-Fried was in court to enter a plea on new charges, which accused him of trying to bribe Chinese officials with over $40 million in cryptocurrency in 2021, to which he pleaded not guilty. He was previously hit with a fleshed-out indictment in February, which outlined the story of how he negotiated his status atop a crypto empire. The latest indictment adds a count for conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, alleging that Bankman-Fried had engaged in the scheme to try to free up trading accounts of his other company, Alameda Research, that had been frozen in China. If convicted, Bankman-Fried could face a maximum penalty of over 100 years, and his trial is scheduled to take place in October. Federal prosecutors have developed their case quickly, securing plea deals with FTX co-founder Gary Wang, Alameda's former CEO Caroline Ellison, and former FTX chief engineer Nishad Singh. Bankman-Fried's attorney expressed concern about how prosecutors would handle the contents of the laptop, and may revisit the issue with the judge.