• Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced co-founder of FTX, is seeking access to crypto assets associated with FTX and Alameda Research.
• Bankman-Fried’s attorney, Mark Cohen, has requested that the existing bail conditions „related to crypto asset transfers should be removed.“
• Cohen is asking for two additions to be removed from Bankman-Fried’s bail conditions, including a restriction on speaking with certain individuals and a restriction on crypto asset transfers.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced co-founder of crypto asset trading platform FTX, is seeking removal of bail restrictions on crypto asset transfers. Bankman-Fried, who was indicted by a federal grand jury in Manhattan and faces eight charges, was released from custody on bail with certain restrictions. His attorney, Mark Cohen, has written a letter to the Southern District of New York (SDNY) judge Lewis Kaplan, asking for two additions to be removed from Bankman-Fried’s bail conditions.
The first request is that Bankman-Fried be allowed to speak with Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, Nishad Singh, two redacted witnesses, and George Lerner (Bankman-Fried’s therapist). Cohen argues that this restriction is „overbroad“ and Bankman-Fried’s intentions to contact these individuals are attempts to „offer assistance in FTX’s bankruptcy process.“
The second request is that Bankman-Fried be allowed to transfer his crypto assets. Cohen explains that Bankman-Fried’s crypto asset transfers are „necessary to meet his obligations to creditors and other financial obligations associated with his business and personal affairs.“ He adds that Bankman-Fried will be unable to meet these obligations without access to his crypto assets.
Cohen also stresses that Bankman-Fried has been „forthcoming and fully compliant“ with the government and the court since his arrest. He believes that Bankman-Fried should be allowed to transfer his crypto assets in order to meet his obligations and that the existing bail conditions are an unnecessary restriction on his freedom.
It remains to be seen whether the SDNY court will accept Cohen’s request and remove the bail restrictions on Bankman-Fried’s crypto asset transfers. In the meantime, Bankman-Fried is unable to access his crypto assets and is unable to meet his obligations to creditors and other financial obligations associated with his business and personal affairs.