Sam Bankman-Fried may have tried to intimidate a witness into not testifying against him!

By contacting FTX US general counsel through Signal, Sam Bankman-Fried may have been trying to influence the testimony of a potential witness – or intimidate him into not testifying at all – according to U.S. prosecutors.

Stricter bail conditions for SBF

Sam Bankman-Fried could see his bail conditions get tougher. Last Friday, U.S. prosecutors told the court that the former FTX CEO may try to influence witnesses in the fraud case against him. They cited a Signal message Bankman-Fried sent to FTX US general counsel on Jan. 15, in which he said, “I’would really like to get back in touch and see if there is a way for us to have a constructive relationship, to use each other as resources when possible, or at least to go over things with each other.“

According to prosecutors, Bankman-Fried’s attempt to contact the general counsel – who might have damaging information about him – was “ suggestive of an attempt to influence a potential witness.“Even if this were not the case,” they said, “his contact could intimidate the witness into not coming forward or testifying. They also noted that Bankman-Fried used Signal (an encrypted messaging application that allows users to automatically delete messages) to communicate, which is a concern.

Prosecutors therefore asked the court to prohibit Bankman-Fried from communicating with current or former FTX and Alameda Research employees without the presence of an attorney. Exempt from this condition are his family members: his father, Joseph Bankman; his mother, Barbara Fried; and his brother, Gabriel Bankman-Fried.

They also requested that Bankman-Fried be prohibited from using Signal or any other encrypted messaging service. Caroline Ellison, CEO of Alameda Research, told prosecutors that Bankman-Fried had previously instructed FTX to automatically delete Signal and Slack communications within 30 days as a precaution against potential lawsuits.

Bankman-Fried’s legal counsel responded to the request by stating that prosecutors were trying to paint the disgraced crypto founder “in the worst possible light.“