Sam Bankman Fried, former CEO of FTX, is currently in discussions with U.S. prosecutors “resolve the outstanding questions related to Bankman Fried’s bail conditions.” According to a court filing.
“The parties would love to continue these talks, which we are hopeful will lead to an agreement between them in the next few days, and eliminate the need to have further litigation,” Bankman-Fried’s counsel Mark Cohen wrote in a February 2 letter to the court.
Prosecutors claim that Bankman-Fried was in touch with former and current employees of FTX, as well as Alameda. Prosecutors allege that Bankman-Fried was in touch with Ryne Miller, the current general counsel of FTX US. This is allegedly an attempt to influence future witness testimony.
According to a Department of Justice filing, Bankman-Fried sent Miller an email saying that “I would love to reconnect” and that they could have a constructive relationship.
According to Bankman-Fried, John Ray, the new CEO of FTX, reached out to him to “offer assistance.”
Bankman-Fried was ordered by a judge to modify Bankman-Fried’s bail conditions so that he can no longer contact former or current employees at Alameda Research and FTX. He is also prohibited from using encrypted chat apps such as Signal.
Cohen, Bankman-Fried’s counsel, stated that Cohen needed to keep in touch with former employees, including George Lerner, the company’s in-house psychotherapist, because they are “important sources of personal support.”
The lawyers for Bankman-Fried have also requested that the court remove the bail condition which prohibits him accessing or transferring crypto assets held by FTX.
After the next bail hearing, the Court also permitted the names of those who cosigned Bankman-Fried’s $250 million bail bond to become public. CoinDesk was one of the media companies that brought suit to have these names revealed.
“The public has an obvious and strong interest in the identities of these allies.” Klaris is a law firm CoinDesk. “The risk of illegitimacy or public scandal cannot been evaluated without knowing the names of Bankman-Fried’s guarantors.”
According to the letter, a hearing on bail conditions is scheduled for February 9, according to the court. Cohen asked the court for a rescheduling of the hearing to be held from February 7.