Bankman-current Fried’s bail terms prohibit him from contacting current or former FTX and Alameda Research personnel, which the disgraced founder was accused of doing.
A court filing says that the lawyer for former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is now talking with U.S. prosecutors about how to “resolve the outstanding concerns related to Bankman-Fried’s restrictions.”
“The parties would want to continue these negotiations,” Bankman-lawyer Fried’s Mark Cohen said in a letter to the Court submitted on February 2.
Prosecutors claim that Bankman-Fried spoke with current and former FTX employees and Alameda. Prosecutors also think that Bankman-Fried talked to Ryne Miller, the present general counsel for FTX US, to change the testimony of future witnesses.
“I’d like to reconnect and see if there’s a way for us to have a productive connection, use each other as resources when feasible, or at least vet things with each other,” Bankman-Fried wrote to Miller in an email, according to a recent Department of Justice filing.
Bankman-Fried claimed to have “offered help” to incoming FTX CEO John Ray.
However, on February 1, a court changed Bankman-Fried’s terms so that he couldn’t get in touch with former or current employees of Alameda Research or FTX. In addition, he was prohibited from using encrypted messaging applications such as Signal.
Cohen, Bankman’s attorney, and Fried’s stated that the former executive must maintain contact with former colleagues, including the company’s in-house therapist George Lerner since they are an “essential source of personal support.”
Bankman-attorneys Fried has also asked the Court to remove the condition of his bail that keeps him from getting to and moving his crypto assets held by FTX.
After the next bail hearing, the Court has also agreed to make public the identities of the hitherto unnamed individuals who co-signed Bankman Fried’s million-dollar bail bond. CoinDesk was one of the media firms that launched a lawsuit to get these names released.
The public is very interested in who these allies might be, the law firm Klaris said on behalf of CoinDesk. “We can’t determine the risk of illegality and public scandal without knowing who the banker guarantors are.”
According to the letter, a hearing on bail terms is presently planned for February 9. However, Cohen has requested that the Court delay the February 7 hearing.
