Sam Bankman-Fried’s legal team is seeking to remove bail conditions that prevent her from accessing FTX funds, according to a court filing from January 28.
A letter from Bankman-Fried’s attorney, Mark Cohen, to United States District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan stated that Bankman-Fried should have access to the assets held by FTX, claiming the client had not previously engaged in illegal transactions.
FTX and FTX US have sought more than $659 million in illegal transfers amid the collapse of cryptocurrency exchanges in November 2022, according to Nansen data reported by Cointelegraph. Bankman-Fried denied any involvement in the transaction.
According to each letter sent to Judge Kaplan, Bankman-Fried was “prohibited from accessing or transferring any FTX or Alameda assets or cryptocurrency, including assets or cryptocurrency purchased with funds from FTX or Alameda”, as requested by US authorities in the first court hearing. on January 3. At the time, prosecutors admitted that there was no evidence that Mr. Bankman-Fried had transferred funds and noted that a federal investigation was underway.
Related: Companies and investors may have to return billions in funds paid by FTX
“Almost three weeks have passed since the initial pretrial conference and we believe that the Government’s investigation has confirmed what Mr. Bankman-Fried has said all along; that is, he did not access and transfer the assets,” notes the letter, stating that the defense notified the authorities “immediately We are aware of the transfer to inform you.”
Furthermore, the lawyers argued:
“Since the only advanced basis for the search for these conditions has not been supported, we believe that the guarantee requirements implemented at the conference should be removed.”
In addition, a letter addressed to the request from January 27 by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) prohibits Bankman-Fried from communicating with “current or former employees” of FTX or Alameda Research without the presence of his lawyer.
The prosecutor’s request came after Bankman-Fried allegedly reached out to Ryne Miller, the current General Counsel of FTX US, via Signal and email on January 15, trying to “influence” Miller’s testimony.
According to Cohen’s letter, Bankman-Fried must have unlimited contact with her father, therapists, and employees or agents of foreign regulators outside of her attorney. The defense states:
“For example, this means that Mr. Bankman-Fried cannot speak to the therapist, who is a former employee of FTX, without the participation of his attorney. According to public sources, FTX and Alameda have approximately 350 employees. Current and former employees may have information important to the defense of Mr. Bankman-Fried . Requiring Mr. Bankman-Fried to include counsel in every communication with a former or current employee of FTX will place an unnecessary strain on the source and prejudice his ability to defend this case.”
On November 11, FTX filed for bankruptcy protection and Bankman-Fried resigned as the company’s CEO. Out on bail at his family home in California, he faces eight charges, including wire fraud and money laundering.