• Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced co-founder of FTX, is seeking access to crypto assets associated with FTX and Alameda Research.
• His legal team has requested the removal of two bail conditions that were imposed by the Southern District of New York (SDNY) judge Lewis Kaplan.
• These conditions include a prohibition on Bankman-Fried speaking with certain people, as well as restrictions on his ability to transfer crypto assets.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced co-founder of FTX, is seeking access to crypto assets associated with FTX and Alameda Research. According to a letter written by his attorney, Mark Cohen, Bankman-Fried’s legal team has requested the removal of two bail conditions that were imposed by the Southern District of New York (SDNY) judge Lewis Kaplan.
Bankman-Fried was indicted by a federal grand jury in Manhattan and faces eight charges, including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, money laundering, conspiracy to defraud the Federal Election Commission, and campaign finance violations. The former FTX CEO was released on bail and the court’s Judge Kaplan imposed certain bail restrictions on Bankman-Fried.
The first of these conditions is that Bankman-Fried is currently prohibited from speaking with Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, Nishad Singh, two redacted witnesses, and George Lerner (Bankman-Fried’s therapist). Cohen, a white-shoe lawyer who represented Ghislaine Maxwell during her recent sex trafficking case, argues that this condition is „overbroad“ and Bankman-Fried’s intentions to contact these individuals are attempts to „offer assistance in FTX’s bankruptcy process.“
The second condition involves restrictions on Bankman-Fried’s ability to transfer crypto assets. Currently, Bankman-Fried is not allowed to transfer crypto assets without prior permission from the court, and any transfers must be reported to the SDNY. Cohen argues that this condition should be removed, as it is „unreasonable“ and the defendant’s crypto assets are not related to the charges against him.
It remains to be seen if the court will accept Cohen’s arguments and remove the bail conditions. Until then, Bankman-Fried will be restricted from speaking with certain people, as well as transferring crypto assets without prior permission from the court.