A decision on bail in the case of the former head of FTX may be revisited, as there are ‘probable grounds’ to suggest that Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) sought to pressure witnesses. Judge Lewis Kaplan said this at a February 16 hearing, according to CNN.
The hearing did not focus on revoking bail. However, the judge did not rule out the possibility of revisiting the matter, which could lead to a change in the founder’s pretrial conditions.
“There could well be substantial grounds to believe that he [SBF] committed or attempted to commit a federal crime,” Kaplan emphasized.
Prosecutors requested a modification of the conditions of Bankman-Fried’s home detention. Authorities suspected him of using the Signal messenger to send encrypted messages to a witness. Subsequently he was accused of using a VPN.
During the February 16 hearing, the judge doubted that the imposed restrictions would prevent the former FTX chief from using the internet, given that his parents have laptops and mobile phones. The prosecutor agreed with the reasoning but pointed to the lack of an alternative remedy. In response, Kaplan hinted that revoking bail could mitigate these risks:
“There is a solution, but no one has proposed it yet.”
The lawyers for Bankman-Fried said that his staying under house arrest was an important condition for building his defense strategy.
“We cannot review these extensive financial documents without him,” the lawyers stressed.
Law professor Richard Painter noted that pressuring witnesses while out on bail is ‘a great way to end up back in prison.’
Hey Crypto Bro:
Witness tampering while out on bail is a great way to go right back to jail.https://t.co/t3aSjXTgko— Richard W. Painter (@RWPUSA) February 17, 2023
The founder of the exchange that collapsed was arrested on December 12, 2022, in the Bahamas at the request of the U.S. government. The U.S. prosecutors filed eight counts against him. Former CEO of FTX pleaded not guilty.
The court released him on a $250 million bail. Guarantors were his parents and two other unnamed individuals. In January 2023, Judge Kaplan granted the media group’s latest disclosures motion.
Earlier in February, the bail obligations were signed by two Stanford University professors — former dean of the law school Larry Kramer and senior research fellow Andreas Pepke.