Federal prosecutors have asked a Manhattan judge to bar FTX founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, from accessing private messengers like Signal over allege witness tampering, CNBC first reported.
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In a letter to US District Judge, Lewis Kaplan, prosecutors said the disgraced crypto entrepreneur have tried to reach out to "current General Counsel of FTX US who may be a witness at trial," without naming him or her. The report notes that a former partner at Kirkland & Ellis, Ryne Miller, is currently working as counsel for FTX US.
According to the report, Bankman-Fried wrote to Millier the following message shortly after FTX's lawyers said they'd managed to recover $5 billion in crypto and cash:
"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."
The government wants to prevent Bankman-Fried from accessing not only Signal, but also any other encrypted messaging platforms. The court filing also reveals that ex-Alameda Research head, Caroline Ellison, said in her testimony that Bankman-Fried was aware that "many legal cases turn on documentation and it is more difficult to build a legal case if information is not written down or preserved."
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