Court upheld ban on Bankman-Fried using messengers
2023.02.09 15:27
Court upheld ban on Bankman-Fried using messengers
By Tiffany Smith
Budrigannews.com – According to reports, a federal judge rejected Sam Bankman-Fried’s request to use particular messaging apps during oral arguments.
As reported by Reuters on February 9, Judge Lewis Kaplan of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York upheld his decision that Bankman-Fried be restricted from using encrypted messaging apps in order to be released on a $250 million bond.
On February 1, the judge instructed SBF not to use apps like Signal to communicate, but the former CEO’s legal team and prosecutors had reached an agreement that allowed for exceptions, such as Facebook Messenger, Zoom, and FaceTime.
According to court filings, SBF contacted FTX US general counsel Ryne Miller and current FTX CEO John Ray. Judge Kaplan reportedly stated that he was “far less interested in [Bankman-Fried’s] convenience” than in the former CEO contacting potential witnesses in his criminal case.
According to Bloomberg, the judge said that Bankman-Fried could be “bright enough to encrypt something without a computer,” which suggested that the restrictions on bail that are in place now were necessary.
According to Kaplan, “there are still snail mail, email, and there are all kinds of ways to communicate that don’t present the same risks.”
While Bankman-Fried personally attended the bail hearing, he is still restricted to his parents’ California residence for the most part. Following Kaplan’s decision to extend, his bail restrictions will reportedly remain in place until February 21.
