US authorities will install a tracker on Sam Bankman-Fried’s phone

A judge одобрил strict monitoring of Sam Bankman-Fried’s (SBF) and his parents’ mobile phones while he remains under house arrest.

Under the order, tracking software will be installed on all communications devices. Experts will review keystroke logs, screenshots, and calls from Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried’s phones at least three times a week.

“We believe these restrictions are sufficient to prevent Bankman-Fried from using his parents’ communications devices to evade bail conditions,” said SBF’s lawyers.

suspected the former FTX chief of attempting to contact witnesses while under house arrest. He was also accused of using a VPN. Additionally, the court has reasons to believe that Bankman-Fried attempted to pressure witnesses.

As part of new bail conditions, SBF swapped his smartphone for a model without Internet access and a laptop with restricted functionality, from which only approved websites may be visited.

Initially, the court ordered software to be installed on the defendant’s parents’ phones, which would photograph the user every five minutes. However, SBF’s lawyers noted that the monitoring software did not have that functionality.

Under the new rules, SBF’s parents will provide lawyers and the government with a list of apps they use on their mobile devices. They were also banned from using anonymous messengers like Signal.

In December 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice charged the FTX chief with eight counts. He was arrested in the Bahamas arrested in the Bahamas and extradited to the United States, where he was released on $250 million bail.

In February 2023, prosecutors increased the number of charges against Bankman-Fried to 12, and in March to 13. He pleaded not guilty to all counts, including bribery of a Chinese official.

Earlier, former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with investigators. Later, following their lead, CTO Nishad Singh followed suit.

Back in April 2023, a Binance spokesperson accused Bankman-Fried of “smearing” the exchange’s chief executive Changpeng Zhao.