Sam Bankman-Fried’s bail conditions still too lenient, says judge

On March 10, Reuters reported that U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan had expressed concerns over the proposed bail conditions for former FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. 

Judge still thinks proposed Bankman-Fried bail conditions too lenient https://t.co/qsfFqJ8Nlt pic.twitter.com/tLhMKMrRax

— Reuters (@Reuters) March 10, 2023

As previously reported by Cointelegraph on March 4, Kaplan — serving on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York — proposed that Bankman-Fried be prohibited from using smartphones, tablets, computers and any video game platforms or devices that allow chat and voice communication. The proposal said that Bankman-Fried’s communication should be limited to “a flip phone or other non-smartphone with either no internet capabilities or internet capabilities disabled.”

However, Reuters reported that at a March 10 hearing, Kaplan expressed concern over the proposal, suggesting that Bankman-Fried was “inventive” and could find ways to evade the restrictions and covertly communicate with others electronically.

Kaplan reportedly shared:

“He could find a way around it and conceivably not get caught.”

Christian Everdell, Bankman-Fried’s lawyer, assured the court that he would work with prosecutors on a new proposal to address the judge’s concerns. 

Related: Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyers request extension for bail condition proposal

Bankman-Fried is currently fighting to avoid jail until his scheduled fraud trial on Oct. 2. Prosecutors have charged him with stealing billions of dollars in FTX customer funds, making tens of millions of dollars in illegal political donations, and tampering with witnesses.

Bankman-Fried’s $250 million bail has been the subject of scrutiny since Feb. 9, following revelations that he had attempted to contact possible witnesses in his case. Additionally, he was temporarily prohibited from using a VPN after prosecutors alleged that he had utilized it twice, on Jan. 29 and Feb. 12.

Three of Bankman-Fried’s former closest associates — including former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison, former FTX technology chief Gary Wang and former FTX engineering chief Nishad Singh — have entered guilty pleas and are providing assistance to prosecutors.