Judge Revokes Bail for FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried

Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested after a federal judge determined that the FTX founder likely attempted to tamper with witnesses on two occasions while awaiting trial on fraud charges coming from the cryptocurrency exchange’s demise.

Judge Lewis Kaplan stated in a brief written order following a hearing in Manhattan federal court on Friday that “there is no condition or combination of conditions of release that will assure that the defendant will not pose a danger to other persons or the safety of the community.”

After The New York Times published excerpts from Caroline Ellison’s private journals, the former head of the bitcoin exchange’s connected hedge fund Alameda Research, prosecutors requested Kaplan to withdraw Bankman-Fried’s bail. She has entered a guilty plea and is cooperating with prosecutors.

Prosecutors later identified Bankman-Fried as the source of the material, which covered a time when he was intimately involved with Ellison. According to Kaplan, the diary materials were “something that someone in a relationship would be unlikely to share with anyone, let alone The New York Times, except… to frighten” the author.

The event came after a succession of complaints from prosecutors regarding Bankman-Fried’s behaviour while awaiting his October trial. The creator of FTX is accused of stealing billions of dollars from consumers who placed funds at his bitcoin exchange.

According to messages quoted in court filings, Bankman-Fried contacted a former colleague who is a potential witness in the case to “see if there’s a way for us to have a constructive relationship, use each other as resources when possible, or at least vet things with each other” in a separate incident that drew fire from prosecutors.

During Friday’s hearing, Kaplan stated that the message was most likely intended to ensure that the two men could “sing out of the same hymn book for their mutual benefit.”

Following the catastrophic collapse of FTX, Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas in December and agreed to be extradited to the United States to face a number of criminal accusations. He has entered a not guilty plea.

Bankman-Fried was released on a $250 million bond, part of which was covered by his parents’ California house. In addition to wearing an ankle band and staying at his parents’ residence, his bail conditions required him to wear an ankle bracelet.

However, prosecutors charged him with violating several of those terms, including utilising a virtual private network, which hampered monitoring of part of his online activity. Bankman-Fried stated that he had been attempting to watch football.

On Friday, his parents attended the bond hearing. His mother, Stanford law professor Barbara Fried, shook her head as Kaplan detailed how her son presented Ellison’s journals to a reporter at their Palo Alto home rather than utilising a messaging programme that would leave an electronic trace.

Bankman-Fried’s lawyer said he will fight the decision to revoke his client’s bail. However, Kaplan promptly arrested him, noting that the attempt to overturn his verdict was likely to fail.

As US marshals approached with handcuffs, Bankman-Fried hastily removed his tie. His mother attempted to approach him but was escorted away.

US Prosecutors Criminally Charge Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried

US Prosecutors Criminally Charge Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried