Federal prosecutors are requesting that the bail conditions of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) be modified to prevent further alleged attempts to influence the testimony of witnesses.
Court documents filed on January 27 show that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has asked United States District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan to prohibit Bankman-Fried from communicating with “current or former employees” of FTX or Alameda.
Prosecutors have requested this after they alleged that Bankman-Fried had reached Ryne Miller, the current General Counsel of FTX US, via Signal and email on January 15, trying to “influence” Miller’s testimony. The document cited:
“I’d really like to reconnect and see if there’s a way we can have a constructive relationship, use each other as a resource if possible, or at least check something out.”
Prosecutors also requested that Bankman-Fried be prohibited from using encrypted communications applications.
“The defendant shall not use any encrypted or ephemeral phone or messaging application, including but not limited to Signal.”
The document further said that Bankman-Fried’s use of the Signal was consistent with a “history” of using it for obstructive purposes.
Related: FTX bankruptcy lawyers: debtors face ‘attack by Twitter’ from Sam Bankman-Fried
Previously reported in December 2022, Bankman-Fried denied involvement or knowledge of the “Wirefraud” group chat on Signal, hours before he was arrested by Bahamian police.
The group’s conversations reportedly included members of the Bankman-Fried circle, including FTX founder Zixiao “Gary” Wang, FTX engineer Nishad Singh and former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison, who allegedly used the group to pass confidential information about FTX and Alameda in the lead-up to the collapse.
This happened after the lawyer representing FTX in the bankruptcy proceedings had been informed on January 26 that the immediate family of Bankman-Fried had to face questions about the financial benefits they could receive from the exchange.