Sam Bankman-Fried’s legal team is trying to remove the bail conditions that prevented him from accessing FTX funds. according to Court filings from 28 January.
Bankman-Fried’s attorney, Mark Cohen, wrote to U.S. District Judge Louis Kaplan that Bankman-Fried should have access to assets held by FTX and that the client was not involved in previous fraudulent transactions. claimed not to.
According to Nansen data reported by Cointelegraph, FTX and FTX US were seeking over $659 million in fraudulent transfers when the crypto exchange collapsed in November 2022. Bankman-Fried has denied any involvement in the transaction.
According to the letter sent to Judge Kaplan, Bankman-Fried, as requested by the U.S. authorities at the initial court hearing, “contains assets or cryptocurrencies purchased with funds from FTX or Alameda, At the time, prosecutors acknowledged there was no evidence Bankman-Fried transferred funds and said a federal investigation was ongoing.
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It has been almost three weeks since the first pre-trial meeting, and I believe the government investigation has confirmed what Mr. Bankman-Fried has been saying all along: that he cannot access or transfer these assets. The defense notified authorities “as soon as they became aware of the transfer to provide notice.”
Further, the attorney argued that:
“We believe that the bail condition imposed at the conference should be deleted, given that the only grounds submitted for seeking that condition have not been upheld.
Additionally, the letter responds to a Jan. 27 request by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) barring Bankman-Fried from contacting “current or former employees” of FTX or Alameda Research without the presence of an attorney. doing.
The prosecutor’s request came after Bankman-Fried contacted FTX US’s current legal counsel, Ryne Miller, via Signal and email on Jan. 15 in an attempt to “influence” Miller’s testimony. was made.
According to Cohen’s letter, Bankman-Fried must have unrestricted contact with his father, his therapist, and employees or agents of foreign regulators outside the presence of his attorney. says.
For example, it means Mr. Bankman-Fried could not speak to a therapist who is a former FTX employee without the participation of his attorney. According to public sources, FTX and Alameda have about 350 people. Each of these current and former employees may have information vital to Mr Bankman-Fried’s defense. Requiring Bankman-Fried to include an attorney would unnecessarily strain his resources and undermine his ability to defend this case.”
On November 11, FTX filed for bankruptcy protection and Bankman-Fried stepped down as the company’s CEO. While out on bail at his home in California, he faces eight counts of his charges, including wire fraud and laundering his money.