SBF’s Attorney Seeks Relaxation Over Incommunicado Terms  

• Federal Prosecutor claims FTX co-founder is using Signal and Slack to communicate with ex-employees. 
• Sam’s defense lawyer wrote a letter to the court to modify bail conditions.  

The defending lawyer wrote a letter addressing Judge Kaplan requesting to lose the restrictions imposed on Sam Bankman for the use of social media.

Both parties request the court to modify Sam’s bail conditions and permit him to use various messaging apps, including FaceTime, Zoom,iMessage, SMS texts, emails, Facebook Messenger and Whatsapp.

“The parties have reached an agreement concerning Mr. Bankman-Fried’s bail conditions after clarifying our mutual understanding of the scope of these conditions and after the Government exempted certain individuals from the proposed no-contact condition at the defense’s request.” said the letter submitted by Mark Cohen, Sam Bankman Fried’s defense lawyer. 

In Sam’s case, tough monitoring will be done; installed software will record all messages and other activities using Whatsapp.  

Sam, the former Chief Executive Officer of FTX, will not be able to use an “ephemeral call or message application” similar to Signal.

Terms like Signal and Slack are not new in the FTX bankruptcy case. Earlier this month, federal prosecutors claimed that Sam directed FTX and Alameda using Slack and Signal and ordered his employees to change their communication settings and opt for “auto delete after 30 days or less.” 

FTX, the third-largest global cryptocurrency exchange, filed for Chapter-11 bankruptcy protection on November 11, 2022, in the United States. 

On January 1, 2023, a federal judge temporarily tightened SBF’s bail conditions, knowing that he was in continuous communication with several former and current employees of the crypto exchange. 

According to CNN, the restrictions were enforced after federal prosecutors raised concerns about witness tampering when it was discovered that Sam was in direct contact with the former general counsel of FTX, identified as “Witness-1” in the court filing. 

On February 6, 2023, TheCoinRepublic reported, “The newly appointed managing authorities of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX are pressuring several politicians and political organizations to return hundreds of millions dollars donated by FTX and its founder Sam Bankman.”  

According to CNN, FTX sent “confidential messages” to politicians, political action funds and other recipients as it sought to recover the funds and pay its 1 million creditors. 

In a statement, the FTX authorities noted, “These recipients are requested to return such funds to the FTX Debtors by February 28, 2023.”   

The statement further elaborates that if funds are not returned voluntarily, then “FTX Debtors reserve the right to commence actions before the Bankruptcy Court to require the return of such payments, with interest accruing from the date any action is commenced.” 

FTX’s bankruptcy filing shook the crypto market, forcing several associated companies to close down. A few major companies that followed the bankruptcy path of FTX are BlockFi and Genesis. 

Nancy J. Allen is a crypto enthusiast and believes that cryptocurrencies inspire people to be their own banks and step aside from traditional monetary exchange systems. She is also intrigued by blockchain technology and its functioning.

Latest posts by Nancy J. Allen (see all)