Soon, the attorney for crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), who is currently involved in the FTX case, will present a review of the bail package to Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Southern District of New York. This is in response to Kaplan’s criticism of SBF’s use of encrypted messaging apps and VPN services while he was out on bail.
Close to a solution
Following legal proceedings related to the collapse of FTX, SBF was required to post $250 million bail to avoid possible jail time. During his time on bail, the entrepreneur used Signal, a messaging service with end-to-end encryption, to keep in touch with former FTX and Alameda colleagues.
However, after Judge Kaplan ordered SBF not to use such apps and threatened to revoke his bail privileges if he broke the law, Bankman-Fried’s attorney Christian R. Everdell revealed on March 18 that SBF and federal prosecutors “worked diligently to agree on a set of specific bail conditions that will address government and court concerns,” said Bloomberg. In the letter, Everdell stated:
We believe we are close to a resolution and expect to be able to present the court with a draft injunction outlining these terms next week.
Maximum 115 years in prison
To date, SBF maintains its innocence in the claims against the misappropriation of funds from FTX users. However, the entrepreneur can be sentenced to a maximum of 115 years in prison if found guilty. In total, he is charged with carrying out a possible 8 crimes. Whether he will be punished for this is still unknown, given that his trial will not start until October.
Meanwhile, FTX is being completely restructured. During this process, the current trustees disclosed that FTX and the former CEO of Alameda Research received $3.2 billion in payments and loans from FTX-affiliated entities. Of the lot, Bankman-Fried reportedly received by far the largest share of these funds: approximately $2.2 billion.