FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Objects to Stricter Bail, Says Prosecutors Put Him in 'Worst Possible Light'

Bankman-Fried's lawyers were responding to a request by federal prosecutors that the former FTX boss not be allowed to talk with employees.

By Reuters | Updated: 30 January 2023 17:29 IST

FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Objects to Stricter Bail, Says Prosecutors Put Him in 'Worst Possible Light'

Photo Credit: Reuters

If convicted, FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried could face up to 115 years in prison

Highlights

Bankman-Fried, 30, has been free on $250 million bond
Prosecutors have asked that the ex-FTX boss not be allowed to use Signal
Bankman-Fried allegedly recently tried to contact a potential witness

Lawyers for Sam Bankman-Fried on Saturday urged a US judge not to ban the indicted FTX cryptocurrency executive from communicating with former colleagues as part of his bail, saying prosecutors "sandbagged" the process to put their client in the "worst possible light."

The lawyers were responding to a Friday night request by federal prosecutors that Bankman-Fried not be allowed to talk with most employees of FTX or his Alameda Research hedge fund without lawyers present, or use the encrypted messaging apps Signal or Slack and potentially delete messages automatically.

Bankman-Fried, 30, has been free on $250 million (roughly Rs. 2,038 crore) bond since pleading not guilty to charges of fraud in the looting of billions of dollars from the now-bankrupt FTX.

[Sponsored] Samsung Galaxy S24: The Ultimate Camera Phone With Smarter On-Device AI

Prosecutors said their request was in response to Bankman-Fried's recent effort to contact a potential witness against him, the general counsel of an FTX affiliate, and was needed to prevent witness tampering and other obstruction of justice.

But in a letter to US District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan, Bankman-Fried's lawyers said prosecutors sprung the "overbroad" bail conditions without revealing that both sides had been discussing bail over the last week.

"Rather than wait for any response from the defense, the government sandbagged the process, filing this letter at 6:00pm on Friday evening," Bankman-Fried's lawyers wrote. "The government apparently believes that a one-sided presentation - spun to put our client in the worst possible light - is the best way to get the outcome it seeks."

FTX Tells Creditors $415 Million in Crypto Assets Was Stolen by Hackers

Bankman-Fried's lawyers also said their client's efforts to contact the general counsel and John Ray, installed as FTX's chief executive during the bankruptcy, were attempts to offer "assistance" and not to interfere.

A spokesman for US Attorney Damian Williams in Manhattan declined to comment.

Bankman-Fried's lawyers proposed that their client have access to some colleagues, including his therapist, but not be allowed to talk with Caroline Ellison and Zixiao "Gary" Wang, who have pleaded guilty and are cooperating with prosecutors.

They said a Signal ban isn't necessary because Bankman-Fried is not using the auto-delete feature, and concern he might is "unfounded."

The lawyers also asked to remove a bail condition preventing Bankman-Fried from accessing FTX, Alameda or cryptocurrency assets, saying there was "no evidence" he was responsible for earlier alleged unauthorized transactions.

In an order on Saturday, Kaplan gave prosecutors until Monday to address Bankman-Fried's concerns.

"The court expects all counsel to abstain from pejorative characterizations of the actions and motives of their adversaries," the judge added.

Will crypto tax hurt the industry in India? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.