Former FTX executive chairman Sam Bankman-Fried (C) arrives to enter a plea before US District Judge Lewis Kaplan in federal court in Manhattan, New York, January 3, 2023.
Ed Jones AFP Getty Images
Federal prosecutors are trying to block indicted FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried from using encrypted messaging software, calling the effort “witness tampering,” according to a letter filed in Manhattan federal court on Friday.
Bankman-Fried reached out to “the current General Counsel of FTX US who may be a witness at trial,” prosecutors said. Ryne Miller, who was not identified by name in the government filing, is current counsel for FTX US, and a former partner at Kirkland & Ellis.
The government alleges that Bankman-Fried wrote to Miller through Signal, an encrypted messaging app, on January 15, the day after bankruptcy officials at the crypto exchange announced the recovery of more than $5 billion in FTX assets.
“I’d really like to reconnect and see if there’s a way that we can have a constructive relationship, use each other as a resource if possible, or at least check things out,” Bankman-Fried told Miller.
Bankman-Fried has also been in contact with “other current and former FTX employees,” the filing said. Federal prosecutors argued that Bankman-Fried’s request indicated an attempt to influence the testimony of a witness, and that Bankman-Fried’s attempt to improve his relationship with Miller “could constitute witness tampering.”
Miller and a representative for Bankman-Fried declined to comment.
In order to limit Bankman-Fried’s access to Signal and other encrypted messaging platforms, the government must “prevent obstruction of justice.” Federal prosecutors allege that Bankman-Fried directed Alameda and FTX through Slack and Signal, and instructed employees to set the communications to “auto-delete after 30 days or less.”
Citing undisclosed testimony from former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison, the government said Bankman-Fried showed “many legal cases turn on documentation and it’s harder to build a legal case if information isn’t written down or stored.” Ellison pleaded guilty to various fraud charges and has cooperated with the US Attorney’s efforts to build a case against Bankman-Fried.
Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to eight charges in connection with the collapse of the multibillion-dollar crypto empire, FTX. He will be in federal court in October, after being released on $250 million bail.