DOJ Imposes New Conditions Relating To SBF Contact With Prospective Witnesses In The Case

Key Points:

• The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is attempting to restrict Sam Bankman-communications Fried’s with FTX and Alameda Research employees.
• Bankman-Fried has already sought to contact a witness, asking whether they might reconnect and use each other as resources, according to the DOJ.

Sam Bankman-communications Fried’s with FTX and Alameda Research staff members are being stifled by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) prior to his trial.

The DOJ requested in a recent court filing that Bankman-access Fried’s to all current and past workers of the troubled crypto companies be restricted because they might be easy targets for intimidation.

In particular, the Government wants to restrict the defendant’s communication to only current and former FTX and Alameda employees because they are the most susceptible to intimidation because they were the defendant’s subordinates up until recently and were paid and compensated accordingly.

The Government does not consider it administrable to identify a more limited subset of former and current employees whom the defendant may not contact – the Government has not completed its investigation and is still identifying individuals with information relevant to the charges who may be potential trial witnesses.

Bankman-Fried has already sought to contact a witness, asking whether they might reconnect and use each other as resources, according to the DOJ.

It has recently come to the Government’s attention that the defendant has been in direct communication with the current General Counsel of FTX US who may be a witness at trial (‘Witness-1’), and who is represented by counsel. Specifically, on January 15, 2023, the defendant contacted Witness-1 over the encrypted messaging application Signal, as well as by email.

After their original asset failed, FTX declared bankruptcy in November and was obliged to halt customer withdrawals. Bankman-Fried, the company’s founder, is accused of cheating investors and mishandling user funds by lending billions to Alameda, FTX’s trading branch, to make bad bets. He is currently free on bail until his trial.

Bankman-Fried may face more than 100 years in prison if convicted.

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