Attorneys for Sam Bankman-Fred are seeking provisional release and oppose the deal proposed by the prosecution

Attorneys representing the former CEO of FTX, Sam Bankman FriedHe alleged that the “extraordinary accommodations” offered to him by the authorities were insufficient to prepare for his criminal trial in October.

In a memorandum filed Aug. 25 with the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, Bankman-Fried’s legal team asserted that the prosecution’s proposed plan to allow the former FTX CEO access to pretrial documents is insufficient. The lawyers said the US Department of Justice released nearly 4 million pages of investigative evidence material on August 24, and that there are still “millions of pages of documents and terabytes of data” to review for your criminal prosecution.

“We do not believe that anything short of provisional release can adequately resolve these issues and protect Mr. Bankman-Fred’s right to participate in his own defense,” the memo said. “Before bail was revoked, Mr. Bankman-Fried spent 80 to 100 hours a week reviewing the massive discovery and creating detailed analyzes that he could constantly update and share with his attorneys.”

Bankman Fried was out on $250 million bail for about 8 months after his extradition from the Bahamas and his appearance in the US in December 2022. However, in the wake of allegations of witness tampering by the former CEO of Alameda Research, Caroline Ellison, a federal judge canceled her bail. Since August 11, nearly two months before the start of his first criminal trial, Bankman-Fried has been locked up in the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center.

Since bail was revoked, Bankman Fried’s legal team has been pushing for an easing of restrictions that allow him to spend time outside of prison in order to prepare for trial. A judge ruled on August 21 to allow Bankman-Fried about seven hours in the lawyers’ room in the cell block at the New York courthouse on August 22, and then issued an order granting him access to the cell block, apparently an unlimited space using a laptop. and a Wi-Fi device as long as his attorneys provide 48 hours’ notice.

“Mr. Bankman-Fred requires continued access to a computer connected to the Internet to enable him to review test proposal documents, search online for relevant context of evidence, write and edit a work product through document and data analysis, and share documents and analysis with their attorneys,” their legal team claimed. The current plan of the government […] It’s not even close to that.”

Bankman-Fried’s first trial is set to begin on October 3, when he will face seven counts of fraudulent activity involving user funds at FTX and Alameda Research. The second trial, scheduled for March 2024, will include five more criminal charges.

According to court documents, Bankman-Fried’s legal team can present a defense alleging that the former CEO acted in “good faith” on the advice of FTX attorneys and internal counsel for FTX. These alleged illegal actions included ordering Bankman-Fried to automatically delete certain communications between FTX employees and Alameda.

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