In the continuing FTX case, the attorney for crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) will shortly submit a new bail proposal before Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Southern District of New York. The action was taken in response to Kaplan’s criticism of SBF’s usage of virtual private network (VPN) services and encrypted communications applications while on bail.
With a $250 million bail bond, SBF was able to avoid potential jail time throughout the legal procedures surrounding FTX’s demise. However, he used Signal, an end-to-end encrypted messaging platform, while out on bail to get in touch with former FTX and Alameda coworkers. SBF was prohibited from using these applications by Kaplan, who also threatened to lose his right to bail if he behaved improperly.
In response to the court’s directive, Bankman-Fried’s attorney Christian Everdell stated on March 18 that SBF and the federal government “have been working diligently to agree on a set of specific bail conditions that will address the concerns expressed by the government and the court.”
SBF denies accusations that the funds belonging to FTX consumers were stolen. He could get 115 years in prison if proven guilty on all eight charges.
The current administrators of FTX have disclosed that the previous executives of FTX and Alameda Research received $3.2 billion in payments and loans from FTX-affiliated firms throughout the ongoing reorganization of FTX.