Lawyers for the media contended that the public’s right to know Bankman-sureties Fried’s exceeded their privacy and safety concerns, while Bankman-lawyers Fried’s vehemently disagreed.
Eight prominent media outlets, including Bloomberg, the Financial Times, and Reuters, have demanded that the two individuals responsible for guaranteeing FTX former CEO Sam Bankman-$250 Fried’s million bond be made public.
In a statement sent to New York District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan on Jan. 12, attorneys from Davis Wright Tremaine LLP stated that “the public’s entitlement to know Bankman-guarantors Fried’s outweighed their privacy and safety rights.”
“The public […] has an interest in knowing who it is that provided Mr. Bankman-Fried with financial backing.”
“[Especially] given Mr. Bankman-tight Fried’s contacts with financial industry leaders, investors, famous Silicon Valley billionaires, and government officials,” they contended.
The Associated Press, CNBC, Dow Jones, Insider, and the Washington Post are among the other media outlets attempting to urge the judge to reveal the identities of Bankman-guarantors. Fried’s
The attorneys also contended that, given Bankman-close Fried’s relationships to “some of the world’s wealthiest, influential, and politically connected persons,” such non-disclosure might erode “public faith in our government institutions and political leaders.”
The media lawyers also noted that, while a bond guarantor was sealed in a 2020 case involving Jeffrey Epstein confidante Ghislaine Maxwell, Bankman-alleged Fried’s financial crimes are not nearly as serious as what Maxwell was accused of:
“While Mr. Bankman-Fried is accused of serious financial crimes, a public association with him does not carry nearly the same stigma as with the Jeffrey Epstein child sex trafficking scandal.”
The letter was sent in response to the court’s Jan. 3 decision to grant Bankman-request Fried’s to redact the names and identifying details of his two non-parental bail sureties.
According to a Jan. 12 Reuters report, Bankman-lawyers Fried’s previously argued that Bankman-sureties Fried’s should be kept secret because Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried — Bankman-parents Fried’s and co-signers — have received ongoing physical threats since FTX’s catastrophic collapse in early November.
If the names of the guarantors were exposed, there would be “great grounds for fear” for the safety and wellbeing of those two people, according to Bankman-lawyers. Fried’s
The names of Bankman-guarantors Fried’s aren’t the only ones that the mainstream media has requested be made public.
Several media outlets also urged Delaware-based Judge John Dorsey, who is overseeing FTX’s bankruptcy case, to provide the names of up to nine million clients involved in the proceedings.
However, on January 11, bankruptcy judge John Dorsey determined that creditor information should be kept confidential for the time being.
