Over the last couple of weeks, the community has been sending out pleas urging the court to reveal the bail guarantors of Sam Bankman-Fried. The former FTX chief was released on a $250 million bail after his arrest. Adhering to the increased demand regarding their identities, Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered in favor of the public. However, SBF’s lawyers weren’t quite happy about it.
On Feb. 7, the attorneys for SBF submitted an appeal to stop the last-minute disclosure of the identities of the guarantors. Although the request did not include any anguish against the revelation, it will delay the enforcement of the order until Feb.14.
Toward the end of January 2023, United States District Judge Lewis Kaplan approved the appeal put forth by eight media firms. The identities of the other two guarantors were asked to be protected after SBF’s parents garnered threats. The FTX chief’s parents had also signed bonds at $200,000 and $500,000.
The Judge, however, went on to state the obvious. Judge Kaplan pointed out how the guarantors had exposed themselves to public scrutiny by willingly signing individual bonds in a “highly publicized criminal proceeding.” Therefore, the guarantors should have seen this coming.
Judge Kaplan will not go easy on SBF’s bail conditions
Last week, SBF’s attorneys were seen negotiating bail conditions with the Judge. The current terms require the FTX founder from refraining getting in touch with the current and former employees of the firm. He was even directed to stay away from using certain messaging apps.
SBF’s legal team along with prosecutors were disappointed after the Judge’s ruling. Judge Kaplan rejected a request that asked for permission on behalf of SBF. The former CEO wanted to utilize messaging apps including FaceTime, Zoom, and Facebook Messenger in a Feb. 7 filing. Without citing a reason, the judge denied the request “without prejudice.” However, this will be brought up during the oral arguments on Feb.9.