The United States Department of Justice has proposed new bail conditions for former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), a court filing made at the end of March 3 shows.
According to the proposal submitted to District Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Southern District of New York, Bankman-Fried should be prohibited from using smartphones, tablets, computers and any type of video game platform or device that allows chat and voice communication. The proposal limits communication to “flip phones or other non-smartphones that do not have internet capability or internet capability is disabled.”
The document by lawyer Damian Williams “on behalf of the parties” also called for the temporary bail conditions imposed recently to be made permanent. The plan is believed to have been discussed with his defense team, who asked him to submit a proposal by March 3.
The temporary term does not include contact or communication with current or former employees of FTX or Alameda Research, except for counsel, along with the prohibition of using encrypted or ephemeral phone or messaging applications, as well as VPNs.
Bankman-Fried’s access to websites will also be limited to a whitelist of approved pages, including YouTube, Wikipedia, Etherscan, NFL, DoorDash, Netflix, and government websites, among others. Under the proposed terms, the former CEO of FTX will be allowed to visit news websites as well, including Cointelegraph.
Furthermore, Bankman-Fried’s laptop will be monitored by security software that will log online activity. In addition, the proposal notes that:
“Fifth, the defendant will not object to the installation of legal pen registration in court on his phone number, Gmail account, and internet service. The pen registration order will be sought by the Government and managed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”
Bankman-Fried $ 250 million bond has been examined since February 9, after he was found to have contacted a potential witness in his case. He was also temporarily banned from using a VPN after prosecutors accused him of using a VPN twice, on January 29 and February 12.
The court unsealed a superseding indictment against Bankman-Fried on February 22 that contained 12 criminal counts, including eight counts of conspiracy to commit fraud as well as four counts of wire fraud and securities fraud.