US Judge Rejects Bankman-Fried's Bail Modification Request
The former FTX CEO's attorneys and prosecutors made a joint request to allow him to use certain messaging apps on Monday.
Feb 7, 2023 at 3:49 p.m. UTC:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/coindesk/AWENYJBD5VAS3OEBWCSAR43GDI.jpg)
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried during his extradition to the U.S. (Royal Bahamas Police Force)
Nikhilesh De is CoinDesk's managing editor for global policy and regulation. He owns marginal amounts of bitcoin and ether.
A federal judge rejected a joint request to modify Sam Bankman-Fried's bail conditions to allow him to use certain messaging tools.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, of the Southern District of New York, said the motion is "denied without prejudice" until a hearing on Thursday. An attorney for the former FTX exchange CEO requested on Monday that he be allowed to use certain unencrypted messaging applications, as well as WhatsApp with the use of monitoring software.
The attorney, Mark Cohen, said prosecutors had agreed to the proposed modifications, which would have allowed Bankman-Fried to use apps such as FaceTime, Zoom, email and others. He would also be allowed to use WhatsApp, but those conversations would be monitored with logging software.
He would not be allowed to use Signal or similar apps, under the proposed modifications.
Cohen said that if the judge signed off, the defense would "withdraw its request to remove the asset transfer condition" and ask for Thursday's hearing to be canceled.
Judge Kaplan said oral arguments will continue. The hearing is set to begin at 10:30 a.m. ET on Thursday.
UPDATE (Feb. 7, 2023, 16:00 UTC): Adds additional detail.
DISCLOSURE
Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.
The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights, which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG.
:format(webp)/www.coindesk.com/resizer/BETd9o0r2OHtd2vT2ZqY9QPrJps=/arc-photo-coindesk/arc2-prod/public/ODFQHDRZFJG7XNVO7P6PUYMWS4.png)
Nikhilesh De is CoinDesk's managing editor for global policy and regulation. He owns marginal amounts of bitcoin and ether.
Learn more about Consensus 2023, CoinDesk’s longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.
Nikhilesh De is CoinDesk's managing editor for global policy and regulation. He owns marginal amounts of bitcoin and ether.
:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/coindesk/Q4HJVDDRZRA5ZDGINDZXADS7LE.jpg)
:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/coindesk/JMCNRJNV6VBJLPNEY7BYUDIZJE.jpg)
:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/coindesk/53OFI7FIFVCBFLOUKIFRRHMH5E.png)
:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/coindesk/PFTJB3CBBZCGPEUSNCEZ7F3Z7U.jpg)