{"id":17025,"date":"2023-01-28T18:23:51","date_gmt":"2023-01-28T18:23:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/ftx-co-founder-sam-bankman-fried-seeks-removal-of-bail-restrictions-on-crypto-asset-transfers-bitcoin-news\/"},"modified":"2023-01-28T18:23:51","modified_gmt":"2023-01-28T18:23:51","slug":"ftx-co-founder-sam-bankman-fried-seeks-removal-of-bail-restrictions-on-crypto-asset-transfers-bitcoin-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/ftx-co-founder-sam-bankman-fried-seeks-removal-of-bail-restrictions-on-crypto-asset-transfers-bitcoin-news\/","title":{"rendered":"FTX Co-Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Seeks Removal of Bail Restrictions on Crypto Asset Transfers \u2013 Bitcoin News"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News )<\/b>
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Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced co-founder of FTX, is seeking access to crypto assets associated with FTX and Alameda Research, according to a letter written by his attorney, Mark Cohen. Cohen insists that the existing bail conditions \u201crelated to crypto asset transfers should be removed.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bankman-Fried\u2019s Legal Team Argues for Removal of 2 Bail Conditions<\/h2>\n

In a letter<\/a> to the Southern District of New York (SDNY) judge Lewis Kaplan, Sam Bankman-Fried\u2019s<\/a> attorney, Mark Cohen, explains that his team believes Bankman-Fried\u2019s current bail conditions are unfair and should be removed. Bankman-Fried was indicted<\/a> by a federal grand jury in Manhattan and faces eight charges, including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, money laundering, conspiracy to defraud the Federal Election Commission, and campaign finance violations.<\/p>\n

The former FTX CEO was released on bail and the court\u2019s Judge Kaplan imposed certain bail restrictions on Bankman-Fried. For instance, the defendant has been remanded to his parents\u2019 home<\/a> in California with a government-monitored ankle bracelet. Cohen, a white-shoe lawyer who represented<\/a> Ghislaine Maxwell during her recent sex trafficking case, requests that \u201ctwo additions\u201d be removed from Bankman-Fried\u2019s bail conditions. The first is that Bankman-Fried is currently prohibited from speaking with Caroline Ellison<\/a>, Gary Wang, Nishad Singh<\/a>, two redacted witnesses, and George Lerner (Bankman-Fried\u2019s therapist).<\/p>\n

Cohen stresses that the bail condition is \u201coverbroad\u201d and Bankman-Fried\u2019s intentions to contact these individuals are attempts to \u201coffer assistance in FTX\u2019s bankruptcy process.\u201d The lawyer notes that this type of communication \u201cdoes not reflect misconduct.\u201d Cohen gives an example, detailing that the government\u2019s bail condition means that \u201cBankman-Fried could not speak to his therapist, who is a former FTX employee, without the participation of his lawyers.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the government has raised concerns over Bankman-Fried\u2019s use of Signal and \u201cother ephemeral messaging applications,\u201d Bankman-Fried\u2019s legal team opines that the concerns are unwarranted. \u201cThe government\u2019s proposed bail condition regarding ephemeral messaging applications should not be imposed,\u201d Cohen\u2019s letter to Judge Kaplan details.<\/p>\n

SBF Seeks Access to Crypto Assets Linked to FTX and Alameda Research<\/h2>\n

Additionally, Bankman-Fried is seeking rights to access specific crypto assets associated with FTX and the quantitative trading firm Alameda Research. \u201c[Bankman-Fried is] prohibited from accessing or transferring any FTX or Alameda assets or cryptocurrency, including assets or cryptocurrency purchased with funds from FTX or Alameda,\u201d the bail conditions note.<\/p>\n

Bankman-Fried\u2019s legal representation is urging the judge to drop the bail condition, as the team believes the conditions are unjustified. The government\u2019s justification was bolstered by the recent transfers of FTX and Alameda-linked funds, Cohen detailed in the letter. However, Bankman-Fried has \u201crepeatedly denied any involvement in the transfers\u201d and he contacted the government as soon as he noticed the funds move. At a pretrial conference on January 3, 2023, prosecutors said they were still \u201cinvestigating\u201d who was responsible for the crypto transfers.<\/p>\n

Cohen concludes that it\u2019s been three weeks since the conference, and the legal team assumes the government\u2019s investigation has proven \u201cthat he did not access and transfer these assets.\u201d If investigators have figured out that Bankman-Fried did not transact with the cited crypto assets, then \u201cexisting bail condition related to crypto asset transfers\u201d should cease. Bankman-Fried\u2019s lawyers sum up the letter by stressing that given the \u201csole basis advanced for seeking that condition has not been supported,\u201d Bankman-Fried\u2019s litigation firm wholeheartedly believes that the \u201cbail condition imposed at the conference should be removed.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Alameda Research<\/a>, ankle bracelet<\/a>, bail condition<\/a>, bankruptcy process<\/a>, campaign finance violations<\/a>, Caroline Ellison<\/a>, commodities fraud<\/a>, crypto assets<\/a>, ephemeral messaging applications<\/a>, Federal Election Commission<\/a>, ftx<\/a>, Gary Wang<\/a>, George Lerner<\/a>, legal representation<\/a>, Mark Cohen<\/a>, Money Laundering<\/a>, Nishad Singh<\/a>, Sam Bankman-Fried<\/a>, securities fraud<\/a>, Southern District of New York<\/a>, therapist<\/a>, unjustified<\/a>, Wire Fraud<\/a>, witnesses<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

What do you think about Sam Bankman-Fried\u2019s request to have his bail conditions changed? Share your thoughts about this subject in the comments section below.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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\nJamie Redman <\/h6>\n

\nJamie Redman is the News Lead at Bitcoin.com News and a financial tech journalist living in Florida. Redman has been an active member of the cryptocurrency community since 2011. He has a passion for Bitcoin, open-source code, and decentralized applications. Since September 2015, Redman has written more than 6,000 articles for Bitcoin.com News about the disruptive protocols emerging today.

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Image Credits<\/b>: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons<\/em><\/p>\n

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