Bankman-Fried Should be Granted Access to Crypto Assets

Sam Bankman-Fried’s legal team has claimed that he should be granted access to assets and cryptocurrency held by his former business FTX, as there is no proof linking him to past suspected illicit transactions.

Bankman-Fried, who resigned as FTX’s CEO on Nov. 11, 2022, when the crypto exchange declared bankruptcy, is now on bail facing wire fraud and money laundering allegations, to which he has pled not guilty.

Bankman-Fried was barred from accessing cryptocurrencies owned by FTX and its trading arm, Alameda Research, as part of his bail conditions after the authorities pointed to illegal transactions made through Alameda wallets. Crypto acquired using FTX or Alameda money is included in the bar.

According to a letter from Bankman-Fried’s lawyer, Mark Cohen, dated January 28:

“Nearly three weeks have passed since the initial pretrial conference and we assume that the Government’s investigation has confirmed what Mr. Bankman-Fried has said all along; namely, that he did not access and transfer these assets.” 

DOJ request communications ban for Bankman-Fried

The above claims come at the back of federal prosecutors requesting that U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan change the conditions of Sam Bankman-bail Fried’s to include a prohibition on private conversations with current and former FTX and Alameda Research workers.

The DOJ request came after Bankman-Fried reportedly attempted to influence the future witness testimony of at least one FTX employee, named as Ryne Miller, the current general counsel for FTX US.

Prosecutors also asked Judge Kaplan not to allow Bankman-Fried to use any encrypted or ephemeral call or messaging application, including but not limited to Signal.