FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried was taken into custody and his bail was rescinded on Friday, in anticipation of his trial scheduled for October. Matthew Russell Lee of the Inner City Press disclosed a synopsis of the August 11 hearing on the social media outlet X, where Bankman-Fried’s legal counsel revealed that the attorneys intended to challenge the ruling. However, despite these intentions, Bankman-Fried was subsequently taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals.
Sam Bankman-Fried Remanded to Jail After Bail Revocation
In the past fortnight, the legal team prosecuting the case against Sam Bankman-Fried has been striving to incarcerate the former FTX CEO on grounds of suspected witness tampering. Bankman-Fried disseminated selected passages from an online journal penned by former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison to a New York Times journalist.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has asserted that these leaked fragments were designed to cow a witness slated to testify against the one-time head of FTX. Since these excerpts surfaced, a heated debate has ensued between the parties, as they spar over whether Bankman-Fried’s action constitutes a mere exercise of free speech or a deliberate attempt at witness intimidation.
According to an X thread published by Matthew Russell Lee of the Inner City Press, the judge presiding over the case has decided to remand Bankman-Fried to jail. Just before mentioning the revocation, the judge mentioned Bankman-Fried leveraging a VPN to watch television.
“[Bankman-Fried] subscribed from the Bahamas and used a VPN as if he were in the Bahamas when he was in Palo Alto and could have watched it on public TV. It shows the mindset. All things considered, I am going to revoke bail,” the judge said in a quote cited by the Inner City Press.
Then the judge and the U.S. government discussed sending Bankman-Fried to the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) or Putnam County Correctional Facility. The discussion concerning which jail to send him was about whether or not Bankman-Fried could still access a laptop.
“The FBI would assist with transporting him to Putnam. During trial, in the MDC,” the prosecutor said and the judge agreed. The prosecutor further noted that there was “a reason for concern,” and further stated “who knows what mischief he could accomplish in the next few days.”
Russell Lee then detailed that after the judge’s decision was made, U.S. Marshals moved in to arrest Bankman-Fried. He had to take off his jacket and tie and remove his shoelaces. “Now, still in [the] courtroom, handcuffs are applied to Sam Bankman-Fried. He’s taken out the door,” Russell Lee’s account of the proceedings explained.
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