A judge involved in the Sam Bankman-Fried criminal case has ordered the disgraced former executive not to contact employees, reports revealed on Wednesday.
Federal Judge Lewis Kaplan from New York’s Southern District demanded that the ex-CEO of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX cease all contact as part of his bail conditions.
He stated Bankman-Fried was prohibited from communicating with FTX and Alameda Research employees, current and former, on encrypted platforms like Signal to avoid violating his bail terms.
Judge’s Orders for SBF
According to prosecutors, the former exec contacted FTX US general counsel Ryne Miller. In a statement, Kaplan told the courts,
“The undisputed information available to the Court regarding the ‘nature and seriousness of the danger [posed] by [the defendant’s] release’ on the existing conditions has changed substantially since he was released, and there appears to be a material threat of inappropriate contact with prospective witnesses.”
He added that such as risk was “clearly and convincingly sufficient” to indicate imposing further conditions “pending the full argument of the cross-application.”
Bankman-Fried previously supported the automatic deletion of Slack and Signal messages in 2021. He told Caroline Ellison, Alameda Research’s former chief executive, to delete the apps to avoid leaving evidence for potential legal cases.
Additionally, Judge Kaplan has not ruled whether to bar access to funds from the now-defunct companies to comply with bail conditions. The defendant’s trial is set to take place in October in a New York court. He faces eight counts of wire fraud, defrauding investors, misappropriating funds, and other offences.
Courts have ordered his family members to comply with ongoing investigations, reports found.
The measures come after Bahamian authorities arrested him, Ellison, and others involved in the 11 November collapse of FTX, Alameda, and 130 affiliates. After his extradition to the United States, SBF remains under house arrest while awaiting trial for his offences.
