Lewis
Kaplan, the judge presiding over the case between the United States and Sam
Bankman-Fried, has sent the Founder of the cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, to jail
ahead of his criminal trial billed for October 2, 2023. The move follows a successful
argument by US prosecutors that Bank-man-Fried tried to tamper with witnesses
in the case at least twice.
Bankman-Fried,
who was arrested in the Bahamas last year in connection with the collapse of
FTX and several of its affiliates, was released
on a hefty $250 million
bond in December,
following his extradition to the United States.
However,
after Bankman-Fried shared the personal
details of Caroline Ellison, his former ally and romantic partner, with the
New York Times, he was accused of witness tampering by federal prosecutors. The US government also argued that
the FTX Founder through the action violated the terms of his bail.
Ellison,
who is the former CEO of FTX’s sister trading firm, Alameda Research, pleaded guilty to
criminal charges in December alongside two former senior executives of FTX, Gary Wang
and Nishad Singh. She has been cooperating with the prosecutors in their investigations into
the cryptocurrency exchange’s collapse. Ellison is also expected to be a star witness in
Bankman-Fried’s upcoming trial.
Judge
Kaplan previously restricted Bankman-Fried from communicating with the public and considered jailing him over the allegations of witness
tampering. Furthermore, the former FTX CEO previously agreed to a gag order, requesting that the same
restriction be applied to John Ray III, the bankruptcy specialist who is
currently the CEO of FTX and who has previously criticized
the management of FTX under Bankman-Fried.
However, on
Friday, Judge Kaplan finally settled on jailing Bankman-Fried, ignoring the objection by his counsel that such a
move will hamper the FTX’s Founder’s preparation for his upcoming trial. The lawyers argued
that a lot of discovery documents in the case required a computer and internet
access.
However, in
support of incarceration, US prosecutors demanded that Bankman-Fried be taken
into custody at Putnam jail rather than being imprisoned
at MDC.
According to the prosecutors, the first facility can provide him with a laptop
with internet access to prepare for the trial, contrary to the other which offers limited
internet facilities to prisoners.
Bankman-Fried Faces $1B Lawsuit
Bankman-Fried,
who has failed to successfully
dismiss the allegations against him, is facing several criminal charges, including
conspiracy to commit wire, securities and commodities fraud. The crypto
entrepreneur’s crypto empire crumbled last year, following a liquidation crisis
and the revelation that FTX’s customers’ funds were being used to prop Alameda
Research.
Meanwhile,
the new management of FTX recently launched a lawsuit against Bankman-Fried, Ellison,
Wang and Singh, seeking to recover $1 billion. The sum is part of a larger amount of money allegedly misappropriated by the executives before the collapse of
the once-leading crypto exchange, Finance Magnates reported.
Lewis
Kaplan, the judge presiding over the case between the United States and Sam
Bankman-Fried, has sent the Founder of the cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, to jail
ahead of his criminal trial billed for October 2, 2023. The move follows a successful
argument by US prosecutors that Bank-man-Fried tried to tamper with witnesses
in the case at least twice.
Bankman-Fried,
who was arrested in the Bahamas last year in connection with the collapse of
FTX and several of its affiliates, was released
on a hefty $250 million
bond in December,
following his extradition to the United States.
However,
after Bankman-Fried shared the personal
details of Caroline Ellison, his former ally and romantic partner, with the
New York Times, he was accused of witness tampering by federal prosecutors. The US government also argued that
the FTX Founder through the action violated the terms of his bail.
Ellison,
who is the former CEO of FTX’s sister trading firm, Alameda Research, pleaded guilty to
criminal charges in December alongside two former senior executives of FTX, Gary Wang
and Nishad Singh. She has been cooperating with the prosecutors in their investigations into
the cryptocurrency exchange’s collapse. Ellison is also expected to be a star witness in
Bankman-Fried’s upcoming trial.
Judge
Kaplan previously restricted Bankman-Fried from communicating with the public and considered jailing him over the allegations of witness
tampering. Furthermore, the former FTX CEO previously agreed to a gag order, requesting that the same
restriction be applied to John Ray III, the bankruptcy specialist who is
currently the CEO of FTX and who has previously criticized
the management of FTX under Bankman-Fried.
However, on
Friday, Judge Kaplan finally settled on jailing Bankman-Fried, ignoring the objection by his counsel that such a
move will hamper the FTX’s Founder’s preparation for his upcoming trial. The lawyers argued
that a lot of discovery documents in the case required a computer and internet
access.
However, in
support of incarceration, US prosecutors demanded that Bankman-Fried be taken
into custody at Putnam jail rather than being imprisoned
at MDC.
According to the prosecutors, the first facility can provide him with a laptop
with internet access to prepare for the trial, contrary to the other which offers limited
internet facilities to prisoners.
Bankman-Fried Faces $1B Lawsuit
Bankman-Fried,
who has failed to successfully
dismiss the allegations against him, is facing several criminal charges, including
conspiracy to commit wire, securities and commodities fraud. The crypto
entrepreneur’s crypto empire crumbled last year, following a liquidation crisis
and the revelation that FTX’s customers’ funds were being used to prop Alameda
Research.
Meanwhile,
the new management of FTX recently launched a lawsuit against Bankman-Fried, Ellison,
Wang and Singh, seeking to recover $1 billion. The sum is part of a larger amount of money allegedly misappropriated by the executives before the collapse of
the once-leading crypto exchange, Finance Magnates reported.