Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried's bail has been revoked by a federal judge who alleged that he leaked information to a New York Times reporter concerned alleged attempts to intimidate witnesses. The decision was made during an August 11 hearing in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. Bankman-Fried had been out on bail since his arrangement in December 2022 in relation to fraud charges related to FTX's activities. However, prosecutors had been pushing for his $250 million bond to be revoked.
Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered Bankman-Fried's bail to be revoked after suggesting that he would remain in prison until his trials begin. He faces two trials, scheduled for October 2023 and March 2024, on a total of 12 criminal charges. The judge' s decision was based on On Bankman-Fried's alleged sharing of information in an interview with a New York Times reporter that may have aimed at "harming and intimidating" a former colleague and girlfriend, Caroline E. Leeson, the former CEO of Alameda Research.
Prosecutors cited previous violations of bail conditions, including communication with FTX US General Counsel Ryne Miller through the Signal app using a virtual private network, as well as sharing information with reporters to intimate Leeson. Assistant US Attorney Danielle SAssoon claimed that Bankman-Fried had attempted to tamper with witnesses on multiple occasions. The judge concluded that there were grounds to believe he had attempted to interfere with the fairness of the trial, leading to the decision to revoke his bail.
Bankman-Fried's attorney, Mark Cohen, indicated that they intend to appeal the ruling and pressure the judge to stay the order. Despite this, the judge denied the motion and ordered Bankman-Fried to be demanded in custody. Bankman-Fried may be transferred to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn once the trial began in October. He currently faces 12 charges, and though some charges related to violating campaign finance laws were initially dropped due to an extradition agreement, they have been reintegrated into the w ire fraud charge.
