Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has received a bit of good news today, as a judge gave him modest leeway to meet with his legal team.
A federal judge has issued an interim order granting Sam Bankman-Fried (also known as SBF) access to discovery materials in his criminal case. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York said SBF can review materials offered by prosecutors while detained, pending resolution of a dispute over the extent of access.
Lawyers Argue Over How Much Time Bankman-Fried Can Spent Outside Jail
Judge Kapan gave SBF this extra time with his legal defense as prosecutors and SBF’s lawyers quarreled over how much time he could spend outside of his jail cell.
The judge’s temporary order finds some middle ground while arguments about the matter drag on. For now, the judge said SBF can review some evidence on a laptop in a courthouse cellblock.
However, the FTX founder must give 48 hours’ notice before meetings with counsel. The order follows SBF’s not-guilty plea on charges of fraud and conspiracy related to the November 2022 collapse of his cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
SBF currently sits in a Brooklyn jail awaiting trial on fraud charges. On Tuesday, the disgraced founder had complained about his poor diet in prison. Bankman-Fried is a vegan, and the “lack of adequate food and medication” in prison is impeding SBF’s trial preparation efforts, he claimed.
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The FTX Founder Denies Any Criminality
Before its collapse, FTX was a major cryptocurrency exchange, founded by Bankman-Fried in 2019. It grew quickly to become one of the largest crypto exchanges globally.
However, in November 2022, a report by CoinDesk raised concerns about FTX’s financial health and potential commingling of customer funds. In the days afterward, a surge in withdrawal requests strained FTX’s liquidity.
With FTX on the brink of collapse, SBF resigned as CEO on November 11, 2022, the same day the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The FTX failure wiped out billions in customer funds and caused a devastating ripple effect across the industry. However, Bankman-Fried denies all wrongdoing and claims the failure was due to negligence and not criminality.
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