Sam Bankman-Fried seeks ‘temporary release’ to prepare for trial

Lawyers for the former head collapsed FTX Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) filed ходатайство with complaints about the harsh conditions of his confinement and urged for his “temporary release.”

Lawyers stressed the need for their client’s access to important online documents. Since SBF pleaded not guilty, the prosecution has provided terabytes of pretrial investigation data totaling four million pages.

“Even if he were released on bail with an unlimited time frame, completing the document review before trial would seem an unattainable task,” the defense wrote.

A hearing in the case is scheduled for October 2. If the court refuses to release Bankman-Fried, the lawyers have demanded at least five meetings per week for preparation.

Before the bail was revoked, the former CEO of the collapsed exchange invested 80 to 100 hours each week in studying the case with his lawyers, according to the motion.

SBF’s current confinement conditions restrict him to six hours of laptop use on two days per week at the courthouse.

Bankman-Fried’s lawyers also complained about ‘short device uptime due to a lack of charging outlets and weak Internet connectivity, which did not work for a substantial portion of the sessions’.

The judge ordered prosecutors to respond to the defense’s letter. A hearing on this matter is scheduled for August 30.

SBF was charged with 13 criminal offenses. Later, prosecutors dropped the charge of financing some politicians as part of a deal with the defense.

Founder of FTX did not plead guilty to any of the counts, including the bribery of a Chinese official.

Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas and extradited to the United States, where he was released on a $250 million bond. The court later overturned his release and remanded the former exchange chief in custody until the next hearing.

The U.S. prosecutors accused SBF of using $100 million of client funds to finance political campaigns.