Sam Bankman-Fried’s resolution of a dispute with prosecutors over his use of encrypted messaging apps and other communications with former FTX employees was rejected by a federal judge.
(Bloomberg) — Sam Bankman-Fried’s resolution of a dispute with prosecutors over his use of encrypted messaging apps and other communications with former FTX employees was rejected by a federal judge.
Bankman-Fried’s lawyers said in a letter to US District Judge Lewis Kaplan on Monday that they had come to an agreement with the government that their client wouldn’t use encrypted messaging apps like Signal, as part of his bail accord. The agreement allowed him to send regular texts, make Zoom and FaceTime calls and use use WhatsApp with monitoring technology.
They asked the judge to adjourn a hearing on the issue that was scheduled for Thursday, but Kaplan declined on Tuesday, ordering the parties to appear before him for oral arguments on modifications to the bail package.
Read More: Bankman-Fried Agrees Not to Use Encrypted Apps While on Bail
Bankman-Fried’s lawyers also said the parties had reached an agreement on a specific set of former FTX employees that their client would not contact. Prosecutors had previously sought to bar all contact, raising the possibility that Bankman-Fried might engage in witness tampering.
The FTX co-founder has pleaded not guilty to fraud charges over the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange.
The case is US v. Bankman-Fried, 22-cr-673, US District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
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