The US Department of Justice has proposed new bail conditions for former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), according to a court filing made late on March 3.
According to the proposal presented to District Judge Lewis Kaplan, of the Southern District of New York, Bankman-Fried should be prohibited from using smartphones, tablets, computers and any type of video game platforms or devices that allow chatting and communicating by voice. The proposal restricts their communication to “a flip phone or other non-smartphone device that has no or disabled internet capabilities.”
The document, drafted by attorney Damian Williams “on behalf of the parties,” also calls for the recently imposed temporary bail conditions to be made permanent. The plan is believed to have been negotiated with his defense team, which has asked to submit a proposal by March 3.
The temporary conditions include a ban on contact or communication with current or former employees of FTX or Alameda Research, except in the presence of an attorney, along with a ban on using any encrypted or ephemeral calling or messaging applications, as well as a VPN.
Bankman-Fried’s access to websites would also be restricted to a whitelist of pre-approved pages, which includes YouTube, Wikipedia, Etherscan, NFL, DoorDash, Netflix and government websites, among others. Under the proposed terms, the former FTX CEO will also be able to visit news websites, including Cointelegraph.
In addition, Bankman-Fried’s laptop would be monitored by security software that would record his online activity. In addition, the proposal states that:
“Fifth, the defendant will not object to the installation of court-sanctioned pen searches on his phone number, Gmail account, and Internet service. Those pen search warrants will be requested by the Government and maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation”.
Bankman-Fried’s $250 million bail has been under scrutiny since February 9, after it was discovered that he had contacted potential witnesses in his case. He was also temporarily banned from using a VPN after prosecutors accused him of using it on two occasions, on January 29 and February 12.
On February 22, the court unsealed an indictment against Bankman-Fried charging 12 criminal counts, including eight fraud-related conspiracy, as well as four wire fraud and securities fraud.
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