The legal team representing the embattled former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, of the now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX wants the court to allow him access to crypto assets owned by his former company. The lawyer argued that there is no evidence to show his involvement in unauthorized transactions on the FTX platform.
Challenging the Bail Terms
After stepping down as FTX’s CEO on November 11, 2022, when the crypto exchange went into a liquidity crisis, Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested and charged for his involvement in committing wire fraud and money laundering.
However, the former head of FTX is currently on bail, and part of the condition is that he has been barred from accessing crypto assets held by FTX and its trading arm, Alameda Research.
The government involved Alameda Research in the current case after discovering illicit transactions made by the company’s crypto wallets. Accordingly, the ban includes purchasing crypto assets using FTX or Alameda resources.
According to Mark Cohen, Bankman-Fried’s lawyer, it is almost three weeks since the initial pre-trial conference started, and the legal team assumed that the government has confirmed what the former owner has stated.
Cohen added that Bankman-Fried has testified that he did not access nor transfer the assets as the government and the public believe. Cohen’s request to Lewis Kaplan, the bankruptcy judge in the Southern District of New York, reads:
Also read:“With the court yet to support the request to allow Bankman-Fried access to the assets, the team believes that the court should drop the bail condition imposed on the former CEO during the pre-trial conference.”
However, in a new filing, the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) requested a communication ban on Bankman-Fried as an additional bail term. The DoJ alleges that the former CEO has attempted to contact the FTX’s General Counsel, Ryne Miller, along with a potential witness to the ongoing case.
Agreeing With Some Conditions
Meanwhile, Cohen’s response to the DoJ’s recent request shows that the FTX lawyer agreed with the restriction. However, he noted that Bankman-Fried should be allowed access to some former FTX employees, including his therapist, George Lerner.
The lawyer stressed that many of the former staff are the defendant’s friends, and imposing a total restriction on his contact with them would deprive him of the personal support he needs at this trying moment. The FTX legal representative explained that Bankman-Fried has attempted to offer his support to the new FTX CEO via messages but has been ignored by the recipient thus far.
With the collapse of FTX and the arrest of Bankman-Fried, the US government seeks to follow the case to the end and ensure all parties receive appropriate judgments. It will be interesting to see how the case ends, given the twist and turns it has taken since its beginning.
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