- Lawyers for Sam Bankman-Fried proposed installing surveillance software on his phone at a bail hearing Thursday.
- A judge expressed concern that the FTX founders could evade bail restrictions and tamper with witness testimony.
- The software would record and store all of Bankman-Fried’s mobile correspondence.
Sam Bankman-Fried’s attorneys just suggested she install a surveillance software app on her phone because of concerns over the FTX founder’s communications surge in court.
CoinDesk previously reported that the idea was proposed at a hearing on Thursday as US District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan asked lawyers to submit a new motion that would modify the disgraced crypto mogul’s bail conditions. The software will record and store all communications prior to execution to prevent Bankman-Fried from obstructing the government’s criminal investigation.
Issues over Bankman-Fried’s bail conditions were made public after prosecutors raised concerns and asked a judge to block the former FTX CEO from accessing former employees last week. This includes using an encrypted messaging app such as Signal.
Bankman-Fried is allowed to communicate with us over Zoom, iMessage and Facebook Messenger, but all of their correspondence will be archived. Nevertheless, Kaplan said he was still concerned about the possibility of the defendant evading existing bail restrictions.
“We’re seeing less of a focus on apps,” Kaplan said. “Don’t you think this defendant is bright enough to encrypt something without a computer?”
Judge said: “I mean, I think I know what ‘encrypted’ means… I’ve read all the spy novels as well.”
After the hearing Bankman-Fried reportedly sent a message to FTX US General Counsel, Raine Miller, in which Kaplan said there was a “material threat of improper contact with potential witnesses”.
Bankman-Fried said in a message to her former employee, “I know it’s been a while since we talked. And I know things got off on the wrong foot.” ,
He added: “I would really love to reconnect and see if there is some way for us to have a constructive relationship, use each other as resources when possible, or at least support each other.” Check things out with Dr. I’d love to get on the phone.” Call sometime soon and chat.”
Source: markets.businessinsider.com
