US prosecutors have submitted a new petition to the court to ensure that the conditions set for Sam Bankman Fried’s bail conditions are tightened. According to the details of the petition, the prosecutors want to prevent him from tampering with witnesses. In addition, the prosecutors want to ensure that the former FTX boss is prohibited from further contact with former or new employees of his now-defunct company or its subsidiary, Alameda.
US prosecutors wary of witness tampering
According to the US prosecutors, the former FTX boss contacted the present legal counsel of FTX, Ryne Miller, via e-mail and Signal. The US prosecutors argued that SBF texted the counsel to influence his testimony in court. In the document, the prosecutors mentioned that he reached out to Miller about their current relationship. SBF also urged the counsel to ensure they fix their relationship to benefit from each other in the future. The prosecution also asked the court to ensure that the former FTX boss is prohibited from using encrypted communication to contact witnesses in the future.
SBF used Signal for obstruction in the past
Asides from that, the prosecutors also mentioned that SBF had a history of using Signal to obstruct justice, as it has been a pattern over the last few years. For example, some months before authorities apprehended him in the Bahamas, SBF sent a message to a group chat on Signal to prove his innocence over the wire fraud allegations. The group chat was said to have included top executives of the now-defunct FTX. Some parties included Alameda CEO Caroline Elisson, co-founder of FTX Gary Wang, and a few executives.
Authorities also alleged that Elisson used the group to communicate secret information to the parties in the build-up to the eventual collapse of both Alameda and FTX. This latest statement is coming off the back of FTX lawyers urging the court to invite immediate members of Bankman Fried’s family to answer questions regarding the source of their wealth. The counsel also wants them to answer questions about the instances where they have benefited financially from FTX before the incident. The parties listed in the document include the mother, father, and brother of Sam Bankman Fried.
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