Counsel for former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is currently in talks with U.S. prosecutors to “resolve the outstanding issues related to Bankman-Fried’s bail conditions,” according to a court filing.
“The parties would like to continue these discussions, which we are optimistic will lead to an agreement between the parties in the next few days and eliminate the need for further litigation,” Bankman-Fried’s counsel, Mark Cohen, wrote in a letter to the court filed Feb. 2.
Prosecutors allege that Bankman-Fried has been in touch with current and former employees of FTX as well as Alameda. Bankman-Fried has been in touch with Ryne Miller, the current general counsel to FTX US, which prosecutors allege was an attempt to influence future witness testimony.
“I would really love to reconnect and see if there’s a way for us to have a constructive relationship, use each other as resources when possible, or at least vet things with each other,” Bankman-Fried wrote in an email to Miller, according to a previous Department of Justice filing.
Bankman-Fried is also said to have reached out to new FTX CEO John Ray to “offer assistance.”
On Feb. 1, a judge modified Bankman-Fried’s bail conditions to prohibit him from contacting former or current employees of Alameda Research or FTX. He is also banned from using encrypted chat apps like Signal.
Cohen, Bankman-Fried’s counsel, said that the former executive needed to be in touch with the former employees – including the company’s in-house therapist George Lerner – as they are an “important source of personal support.”
Bankman-Fried’s lawyers have also asked the court to remove the bail condition that prohibits him from accessing and transferring his crypto assets held by FTX.
The Court has also allowed the names of the currently unidentified people who co-signed Bankman-Fried’s $250 million bail bond to be made public, after the next hearing regarding bail. CoinDesk was among the media companies that filed suit to get these names unsealed.
“The public has a clear and powerful interest in who these allies may be,” The law firm Klaris made on behalf of CoinDesk. “The risk of illegitimacy and public scandal cannot be evaluated without knowing who Bankman-Fried’s guarantors are.”
A hearing regarding bail conditions is currently scheduled for Feb. 9, according to the letter. Cohen had asked the court to reschedule the hearing from Feb. 7.
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