Sam Bankman-Fried’s communication device will be a flip phone or some other “non-smartphone” without internet capabilities or access that is disabled when he is out on bail, prosecutors said.
Restricting the FTX founder’s access to a device that gained popularity when it was about three years old is the latest development in the battle over communications. Functionality on the phone will be limited to voice calls and SMS text messages.
Bankman-Fried, 30, remains free on $250 million bail but is confined to her parents’ home in California with a monitoring device on her ankle. In a letter to US District Judge Lewis Kaplan last Friday, prosecutors said the parties have agreed to modify Bankman-Fried’s release conditions.
Other restrictions include prohibiting him from communicating with current or former employees of FTX or Alameda Research’s trading arm other than immediate family members unless an attorney is present. They also may not use encrypted or ephemeral phone or messaging applications, including Signal.
A spokeswoman for Bankman-Fried declined to comment on the agreement.
Kaplan has threatened to revoke Bankman-Fried’s bail package and send her to jail before her October trial if a Manhattan judge is not satisfied with the restrictions.
Bankman-Fried was accused of a massive fraud that ended in the collapse of FTX in November. In extensive public communications, he has taken responsibility for the debacle but has said he did nothing illegal, and has denied any wrongdoing.
The agreement was filed just days after FTX’s former engineering chief, Nishad Singh, pleaded guilty to one count of fraud as part of a deal to work with prosecutors against his old boss. Gary Wang and Caroline Ellison pleaded guilty last year to charges related to their respective roles in the cryptocurrency exchange and Alameda, and also working in the US.
According to Friday’s letter, Bankman-Fried is prohibited from using virtual private networks, or VPNs, on phones that encrypt internet use and disguise the user’s identity. Kaplan banned Bankman-Fried’s VPN use last month after her attorney said she used one to watch football.
The judge also expressed concern that defendants could use apps such as Signal to influence potential witnesses.
The agreement allowed Bankman-Fried access to the laptop but he had to log in through a VPN that allowed access to websites only in two categories: those deemed necessary by the attorney to prepare the defense; and sites for other purposes that the US concludes do not pose a risk.
Bankman-Fried’s second list of 23 websites for personal use includes various news sites, Netflix, DoorDash, Uber Eats, Major League Baseball and the National Football League.
The agreement also includes Bankman-Fried’s mother and father, who must submit sworn statements listing the serial numbers and MAC addresses for their iPhones, Apple laptops and desktop iMacs, according to the filing.
The case is US v. Bankman-Fried, 22-cr-673, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
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