{"id":74243,"date":"2023-02-17T11:23:35","date_gmt":"2023-02-17T09:23:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/?p=74243"},"modified":"2025-09-09T18:57:02","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T15:57:02","slug":"court-does-not-rule-out-bankman-frieds-return-to-prison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/court-does-not-rule-out-bankman-frieds-return-to-prison\/","title":{"rendered":"Court does not rule out Bankman-Fried’s return to prison"},"content":{"rendered":"

A decision on bail in the case of the former head of FTX may be revisited, as there are ‘probable grounds’ to suggest that Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) sought to pressure witnesses. Judge Lewis Kaplan said this at a February 16 hearing, according to CNN<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The hearing did not focus on revoking bail. However, the judge did not rule out the possibility of revisiting the matter, which could lead to a change in the founder’s pretrial conditions.<\/p>\n

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“There could well be substantial grounds to believe that he [SBF] committed or attempted to commit a federal crime,” Kaplan emphasized.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Prosecutors requested a modification of the conditions<\/a> of Bankman-Fried’s home detention. Authorities suspected him of using the Signal messenger to send encrypted messages to a witness. Subsequently he was accused of using a VPN<\/a>.<\/p>\n

During the February 16 hearing, the judge doubted that the imposed restrictions would prevent the former FTX chief from using the internet, given that his parents have laptops and mobile phones. The prosecutor agreed with the reasoning but pointed to the lack of an alternative remedy. In response, Kaplan hinted that revoking bail could mitigate these risks:<\/p>\n

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“There is a solution, but no one has proposed it yet.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The lawyers for Bankman-Fried said that his staying under house arrest was an important condition for building his defense strategy.<\/p>\n

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“We cannot review these extensive financial documents without him,” the lawyers stressed.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Law professor Richard Painter noted that pressuring witnesses while out on bail is ‘a great way to end up back in prison.’<\/p>\n

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Hey Crypto Bro:
Witness tampering while out on bail is a great way to go right back to jail.https:\/\/t.co\/t3aSjXTgko<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Richard W. Painter (@RWPUSA) February 17, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n