By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
SDNY COURTHOUSE, Jan 28 – Sam Bankman-Fried of FTX was indicted in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, leading to his arrest in the Bahamas on December 12, and extradition to the US on December 21. He was released on $250 million bond - and reappeared on January 3, see below - with the requirement of co-signers.
But he wants them secret: "LETTER MOTION addressed to Judge Lewis A. Kaplan from Mark S. Cohen dated January 3, 2023 re: Request to Redact Names and Identifying Information for Certain Bail Sureties . Document filed by Samuel Bankman-Fried. (Cohen, Mark)."
Inner City Press nearly immediately opposed, here. That was Docket Number 31.
On January 11, Judge Kaplan gave Bankman-Fried until January 19 to respond.
Bankman-Fried waited until past 8 pm on January 19 to file - and then doubled down on secrecy. As of January 27, still no ruling.
But on January 27, the US Attorney's Office asked for two conditions: " (1) the defendant shall not contact or communicate with current or former employees of FTX or Alameda (other than immediate family members) except in the presence of counsel, unless the Government or Court exempts an individual from this no-contact rule; and (2) the defendant shall not use any encrypted or ephemeral call or messaging application, including but not limited to Signal. For purposes of this motion" - full letter on Patreon here.
Then at 2 am between Friday January 27 and January 28 SBF's lawyers wrote it opposing.... the "tone" of the prosecutors who agreed to the bond deal, and took no position on co-signer secrecy: "the defense objects to the nature and tone of the Government’s submission. In an apparent effort to portray our client in the worst possible light, the Government’s letter makes it appear as if it were prompted by exigent circumstances that required it to file on a Friday night and seek these new bail conditions. In fact, the Government first raised its concerns regarding Mr. Bankman-Fried’s contact with the person it now describes as Witness-1 over a week ago, on January 19" and "The Existing Bail Condition Related to Crypto Asset Transfers Should be Removed" - full letter on Patreon here.
Judge Kaplan set a tight reply schedule on both - Inner City Press will stay on it.
***
Your support means a lot. As little as $5 a month helps keep us going and grants you access to exclusive bonus material on our Patreon page. Click here to become a patron.
Feedback: Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
