Court Names Two Anonymous Guarantors of Bankman-Fried’s $250 Million Bond

Two Stanford University professors were previously unknown guarantors of former FTX chief Sam Bankman-Fried’s $250 million bond. The Block reports.

According to court documents, former dean of the law school Larry Kramer signed obligations for $500,000, and senior research fellow Andreas Paepcke for $200,000.

The bulk of the bond was secured by the founder’s parents — Joe Bankman and Barbara Fried, who also taught at the university.

Initially the names of the two anonymous guarantors were removed from the documents. Bankman-Fried’s lawyers argued this on confidentiality and security grounds for the guarantors.

A group of media outlets petitioned to disclose their names in January. The following statement on behalf of Associated Press, Bloomberg, Financial Times, CNBC, Reuters, Insider, the publishers of The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post was filed by the law firm Davis Wright Tremaine.

Among the arguments cited were the gravity of the charges against Bankman-Fried and the public interest surrounding the case.

At the end of the month, Judge Lewis Kaplan granted the motion. Because the defendant’s lawyers had the right to challenge the decision, it came into effect on February 14.

On December 12, 2022, Bahamian authorities arrested the founder and former CEO of FTX at the request of the U.S. government. In the course of the investigation the collapse of the exchange, the U.S. prosecutor’s office brought charges against him in eight criminal counts. Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty.

On December 23, the court released him on a $250 million bond. Later, prosecutors sought to modify the conditions of his home detention. Law enforcement authorities suspected him of using the Signal messenger to send encrypted messages to a witness. Next, he was accused of using a VPN.

Larry Kramer, in a comment to The Block, said he decided to act as a guarantor “for personal reasons”.

“Since the mid-1990s Joe Bankman and Barbara Fried have been close family friends of ours. In the last two years, as my family has faced a gruelling battle with cancer, they have remained the most sincere friends, offering all manner of material and moral support. We decided to support them when they faced their own crisis,” the professor said.

Kramer added that he has no “interests in the case”, and is not prepared to comment or express any position.

Earlier in February, a court postponed the regulators’ two civil lawsuits against Bankman-Fried until the criminal case against him is resolved.