US judge Lewis Kaplan temporarily banned Sam Bankman Fried from contacting current or former employees of FTX and Alameda.
The decision by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan comes after federal prosecutors in Manhattan said that witnesses in Bankman-Fried’s criminal fraud trial could confuse or destroy evidence. Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested in December on charges of looting billions of FTX client funds and lying to investors and lenders.
Bankman-Fried spokesperson declined to comment
Prosecutors cited last week’s Signal message, which Bankman-Fried sent to the general counsel of the US branch of FTX on January 15, referred to in court documents as “Witness-1.” Bankman-Fried suggested that the two work on the phone to “establish a constructive relationship” or “examine everything with each other.”
Bankman-Fried, 30, was placed under house arrest at her family’s California home after pleading not guilty. His lawyers said last week that efforts to contact the general counsel of John Ray, the company’s current managing director, were attempts to offer assistance and did not intervene.
Kaplan was skeptical of this argument, writing that Bankman-Fried’s January 15 message appeared to be an attempt to get both the accused and witness-1 to sing from the same hymnal.
Kaplan wrote that the new restrictions on Bankman-Fried’s conduct will remain in effect until at least February 7, when both parties hold a hearing to consider their allegations. The order, which will be in effect until then, does not apply to Bankman-Fried’s immediate family members.
At next week’s hearing, Kaplan will also consider Bankman-Fried’s request to allow his lawyers to access and transfer the cryptocurrency.
