Prosecutors in New York are now seeking to restrict and reset the bail terms following an alleged attempt by Sam Bankman-Fried, the defendant and former FTX CEO, to influence witnesses using Signal and email messages.
According to court documents addressed to US District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan on January 27, the defendant’s communication became a suggestive effort to influence witnesses in the ongoing criminal case. On January 15, prosecutors said that Sam Bankman-Fried sent an encrypted message through Signal.
Prosecutors reveal that the defendant’s latest attempts are likely because one of the key witnesses has information that will implicate him, hence the call for “a constructive relationship.”
The disgraced CEO is also alleged to have communicated directly with the general counsel of FTX US. This individual could become a trial witness from now on.
The document revealed that Sam Bankman-fried communicated with current and former FTX staff members via email and Signal, which is consistent with his “history of using the program for disruptive purposes.”
Judge Kaplan was also informed that the testimony of Caroline Ellison, former executive director of Alameda Research,
shows that Sam Bankman-Fried deliberately chose to communicate using the automatic deletion feature in Slack and Signal Messenger because it erases all records and may not be admissible in court.
SBF assets continue to be seized due to gross mismanagement
While the cryptocurrency industry keeps counting
losses from the FTX collapse on November 8, 2022, federal prosecutors, as of the third week of January, have seized more than $700 million in assets and cash tied to the
Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX,. A large part is in Robinhood’s actions which, for weeks, have led to a multi-party fight between the Caribbean plaintiffs, BlockFi officials and FTX executives.
In May 2022, Sam Bankman-fried said that he had a 7.6% stake in Robinhood stock. Prosecutors in the ongoing SBF case say these shares were purchased with client funds, but SBF denied this.
