Bankman-Fried could use a flip phone as part of a tighter bond plan
Prosecutors and attorneys for FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried are asking the disgraced cryptocurrency entrepreneur to be allowed to use a flip phone or other non-smartphone device while on lockdown. out on bail
Prosecutors and attorneys for FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried are asking the disgraced cryptocurrency entrepreneur to be allowed to use a flip phone or other non-smartphone device while on lockdown. out on bail.
The proposal, submitted in a letter on Friday, comes as the judge handling the case decides how to toughen Bankman-Fried’s bail conditions when the former billionaire could communicate on electronic devices in a way which cannot be traced.
Prosecutors alleged last month that Bankman-Fried used a virtual private network that blocks third parties from seeing online activity, known as a VPN, to access the internet twice. They also said he sent an encrypted message through SMS Signal’s app in January to FTX US’s general counsel, a move they said could point to witness tampering.
Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to charges of misleading investors and looting customer deposits on FTX, its cryptocurrency platform.
Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, who is overseeing the case, raised the possibility that Bankman-Fried could face jail time if his communications cannot be monitored to ensure the integrity of the trial. The former FTX chief was released on $250 million bail in December and is confined to his parents’ home in Palo Alto, Calif.
Under the proposal, Bankman-Fried’s phone functions would be limited to text messages and voice calls. He would also receive a new limited-use laptop, which would be “configured so that it can only connect to the Internet using specified VPNs”, which would only allow access to websites that have been updated. whitelisted. They include sites he can use to prepare his defense, like Ftx.com, and those for personal news, like The New York Times and Netflix.
In the letter, both parties said that Bankman-Fried would also be granted access to several applications to prepare his defense, including Zoom, Microsoft Office and Adobe Acrobat. The parties also proposed that monitoring software be installed on the device to track any activity and that Bankman-Fried’s parents submit affidavits under oath that they “will not bring any additional devices into the house.” or will not allow access to their own password-protected devices.
Kaplan has yet to decide whether or not to approve the proposal.
