Sam Bankman-Fried's legal team is seeking to remove a bond condition that prevented him from accessing FTX funds. according to to court documents as of January 28.
A letter from Bankman-Fried's attorney, Mark Cohen, to US District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan, indicated that Bankman-Fried should have access to assets held by FTX, claiming that the client was not involved in previous unauthorized transactions.
FTX and FTX US have sought more than $659 million in unauthorized transfers amid the cryptocurrency exchange crash in November 2022, according to Nansen data reported by Cointelegraph. Bankman-Fried denied any involvement in the transactions.
According to the letter sent to Judge Kaplan, Bankman-Fried was "prohibited from accessing or transferring FTX or Alameda assets or cryptocurrency, including assets or cryptocurrency purchased with FTX or Alameda funds," as requested by US authorities in the first court hearing. on January 3. At the time, prosecutors acknowledged that there was no evidence that Mr. Bankman-Fried had wired any funds and noted that a federal investigation was ongoing.
Related: Companies and investors may need to return billions in funds paid by FTX
"Almost three weeks have passed since the initial pre-trial conference and we assume that the government investigation has confirmed what Mr. Bankman-Fried has said all along, namely that he did not access or transfer these assets," the statement said. letter, stating that the defense notified authorities "as soon as we learned of the transfers to provide notification."
Furthermore, the lawyers argued:
"Since the only basis put forth for seeking such a condition has not been supported, we believe that the bond condition imposed at the conference should be removed."
In addition, the letter is addressed to a US Department of Justice (DOJ) January 27 request prohibit Bankman-Fried from communicating with "current or former employees" of FTX or Alameda Research without their attorney present.
The prosecutor's request was made after Bankman-Fried allegedly contacted Ryne Millerthe current general counsel for FTX US, via Signal and an email on January 15, attempting to "sway" Miller's testimony.
According to Cohen's letter, Bankman-Fried must have unrestricted contact with her father, therapist and any employees or agents of a foreign regulator outside of the presence of attorneys. The defense stated:
โFor example, it would mean that Mr. Bankman-Fried would not be able to speak to his therapist, who is a former FTX employee, without the involvement of his attorneys. According to public sources, FTX and Alameda had approximately 350 employees. Each of these current and former employees could have information crucial to Mr. Bankman-Fried's defense. Requiring Mr. Bankman-Fried to include an attorney in every communication with a former or current FTX employee would put unnecessary strain on his resources and would impair his ability to defend this case."
On November 11, FTX filed for bankruptcy and Bankman-Fried resigned as CEO of the company. Out on bond at his family's California home, he faces eight charges, including wire fraud and money laundering.
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