key takeaways
- Sam Bankman-Fried may have tried to influence or intimidate a potential witness in the case against him.
- On January 15, he reached out to FTX US General Counsel Ryne Miller via Signal, asking him to “reconnect” and “look at things with each other.”
- Prosecutors believe he should be prohibited from communicating with current or former employees of FTX or Alameda Research without an attorney present.
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By contacting the general counsel for FTX US through Signal, Sam Bankman-Fried may have tried to influence the testimony of a potential witness, or intimidate him into not testifying at all, US prosecutors say.
Stricter bail conditions for SBF
Sam Bankman-Fried could see his bail conditions tightened.
Last Friday US prosecutors voiced concerns to the court that the former FTX CEO might be trying to influence witnesses in the fraud case against him. They cited a Signal message Bankman-Fried sent to FTX US General Counsel Ryne Miller on Jan. 15, saying: “I would really love to reconnect and see if there is any way we can have a constructive relationship, using each other as resources when possible, or at least checking things out with each other.”
According to prosecutors, Bankman-Fried’s attempt to contact Miller, who may have harmful information about him, was “suggestive of an effort to influence [their] possible testimony. Even if that wasn’t the case, they said, his contact could intimidate Miller from coming forward or testifying. They also noted that Bankman-Fried uses Signal (an encrypted messaging app that gives users the ability to automatically delete their messages) to communicate as a source of concern.
Therefore, prosecutors asked the court to prohibit Bankman-Fried from communicating with current or former employees of FTX and Alameda Research without an attorney present. Exempted from the condition were her relatives: her father, Joseph Bankman, her mother, Barbara Fried, and her brother, Gabriel Bankman-Fried.
They also asked that the use of Signal or any other Bankman-Fried encrypted messaging service be restricted. Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison told prosecutors that Bankman-Fried had previously instructed communications from FTX Signal and Slack to be automatically deleted within 30 days as a precaution against potential legal cases.
Bankman-Fried Legal Counsel answered to the request stating that prosecutors were trying to portray the disgraced crypto founder “in the worst light possible.”
Disclaimer: At the time of writing, the author of this article owned BTC, ETH, and various other crypto assets.
