FTX CEO's Legal Team Claims Insufficient Accommodations for Criminal Trial Preparation
Summary:
Lawyers representing former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried argue that the accommodations provided by authorities for his criminal trial preparation are insufficient. They claim that the proposed plan by prosecutors to grant access to discovery materials falls short of the millions of pages of documents and data that need to be reviewed. Bankman-Fried's legal team insists that temporary release is necessary to safeguard his right to participate in his defense.
Lawyers representing former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, also known as SBF, argue that the accommodations provided by authorities for his preparation for the upcoming criminal trial are inadequate. In a recent court filing, SBF's legal team criticized the proposed plan by prosecutors to grant access to discovery materials before the trial, stating that the vast amount of documents and data left to review requires more than what has been offered. The lawyers emphasized that temporary release is necessary to ensure SBF's right to participate in his own defense, especially since he had been spending significant hours each week analyzing the discovery materials prior to his bail being revoked.
Bankman-Fried had been out on a $250 million bond for approximately 8 months but had his bail revoked due to allegations of witness intimidation. Since August 11, he has been remanded to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. Since then, his legal team has been pushing for fewer restrictions, advocating for more time outside of jail to adequately prepare for the trial. A judge recently ruled that SBF would be allowed limited hours in a New York courthouse cell block attorney room, and later granted access to the same space with certain conditions. However, according to SBF's legal team, this falls short of his needs, particularly the constant access to an internet-enabled computer that would allow him to effectively review documents, conduct research, and collaborate with his attorneys.
SBF is scheduled to face his first trial on October 3, facing seven charges related to fraudulent activities involving user funds at FTX and Alameda Research. A second trial is scheduled for March 2024, involving five additional criminal charges. Court filings indicate that Bankman-Fried's legal team may pursue a defense based on good faith reliance on the advice of lawyers from Fenwick & West and FTX's in-house counsel. Alleged illegal actions include the instruction for certain communications between FTX and Alameda employees to be automatically deleted.
Read more: Can cryptocurrency exchanges be trusted in the wake of FTX's collapse?
Published At
8/25/2023 9:43:59 PM
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