SBF asks judge to keep the identifies of his bail sureties confidential

Founder of defunct crypto speech FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), requested national justice Lewis Kaplan to support the identities of his further bail guarantors secret. Judge Kaplan was assigned to oversee SBF’s transgression proceedings aft justice Ronnie Abrams recused herself citing a imaginable struggle of interest.

In a letter dated Jan. 3, SBF’s lawyers asked justice Kaplan to redact the names and identifying accusation of the 2 individuals who volition co-sign SBF’s bail bond. The lawyers besides requested that the idiosyncratic information of the individuals who volition supply bail sureties not beryllium publically disclosed by the government.

SBF was granted a $250 cardinal bail connected Dec. 22, 2022 — the highest pre-trial bail enslaved successful US history. The enslaved was secured by SBF’s parents, who pledged the equity successful their location successful Palo Alto, California. Large bail bonds lone necessitate plus backing of astir 10% of the bail amount, which becomes payable if the suspect skips town.

SBF and his parents signed the bail bond, but the justice — arsenic is accustomed successful the lawsuit of ample bail amounts — asked that the enslaved beryllium signed by 2 different individuals of “considerable means,” 1 of whom should not beryllium a relative.

For ample bail bonds similar that of SBF, courts often necessitate aggregate radical to motion connected arsenic sureties to guarantee that the suspect appears successful court. Defense lawyers often question to disguise the identities of the bail guarantors to shield them from nationalist criticism.

The missive stated that the 2 further guarantors of SBF’s bail enslaved mean to motion by the deadline of Jan. 5.

As per a Bloomberg report, SBF’s lawyers wrote successful the letter:

“If the 2 remaining sureties are publically identified, they volition apt beryllium subjected to probing media scrutiny and perchance targeted for harassment, contempt having nary substantive transportation to the case.”

In the FTX bankruptcy case, a justice granted anonymity to FTX creditors, including those with important nett worths, who did not privation their names to beryllium made public.

SBF is scheduled to look successful the Southern District of New York tribunal aboriginal today. SBF is reportedly expected to participate a plea of ‘not guilty.’ In summation to wealth laundering charges, SBF faces aggregate counts of fraud, including ligament fraud, securities fraud, and commodities fraud.

The station SBF asks justice to support the identifies of his bail sureties confidential appeared archetypal connected CryptoSlate.