Sam Bankman-Fried allowed to meet with lawyers for supervised, one-time Internet access Sam Bankman-Fried allowed to meet with lawyers for supervised, one-time Internet access
The six-and-a-half hour meeting represents the only court-approved Internet access that Mr. Bankman-Fried currently will be allowed.
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Updated: Aug. 22, 2023 at 12:21 am UTC
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of FTX, will be able to meet with his lawyers on Tuesday, according to a filing dated Aug. 21. Bankman-Fried’s counsel will be allowed to bring one Internet-enabled laptop and one wifi device to the meeting, which will run from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The meeting will take place in the Marshal’s cell block attorney room.
Judge Lewis Kaplan filed the court order granting the relief in question.
The terms of the order will also allow Bankman-Fried’s lawyers to bring one Internet-enabled laptop and one Wi-Fi device to the courthouse for the meeting, which will allow Bankman-Fried to review evidence and documents related to his case.
Judge Kaplan’s order did not approve the entirety of the lawyers’ requests. Bankman-Fried’s defense team previously requested that the accused be released from prison five days per week in order to work on his defense and review documents; they also sought to bring a total of four devices to meetings. The judge’s latest order seemingly rejects those requests, as it states that the “balance of the request … is denied.”
SBF’s bail was previously revoked
Bankman-Fried has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York since a court decision revoked his bail on Aug. 11.
One prosecutor initially suggested that Bankman-Fried could be held at the medium-security Putnam County Correctional Facility, which would provide him with internet access for reviewing documents and evidence. This suggestion was not fulfilled.
Bankman-Fried was incarcerated as prosecutors became concerned that his actions could interfere with witnesses. Those concerns largely arose due to Bankman-Fried’s decision to provide New York Times reporters with information related to Caroline Ellison, formerly the CEO of FTX sister firm Alameda Research.
Ellison reached a plea deal with authorities and is set to be a key witness when Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial begins in October.
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Mike Dalton
Before transitioning to crypto writing in 2018, Mike studied library and information sciences. Currently, he resides on Canada's West Coast.
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FTX
FTX is a defunct cryptocurrency exchange, currently in bankruptcy proceedings, that was founded by Sam Bankman-Fried and Zixiao “Gary” Wang in May 2019.
Alameda Research
Alameda Research was once a principal trading firm, operating as an arm of the failed crypto exchange, FTX.
Sam Bankman-Fried is the former CEO, and co-founder of defunct crypto exchange FTX and Alameda Research.
Caroline Ellison is the former lead trader and former CEO at Alameda Research.