Sam Bankman-Fried must be jailed, is intimidating witnesses, prosecutors say

Sam Bankman-Fried must be jailed pending his October fraud trial over the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange.

By:REUTERS
| Updated on: Jul 30 2023, 22:40 IST

Safe online payment tricks: Know 5 easy ways to keep your money safe on UPI, Net banking

FTX — 1/6 Do you use Unified Payment Interface (UPI) linked payment-making applications like Google Pay (GPay), Paytm, PhonePe, among others? The process of making online payment via these apps is simple, however, sometimes even a simple mistake like wrong click, number, among others can cause you huge monetary loss. Here are some of the safety tips which you should consider while making UPI payments. (Bloomberg)

FTX — 2/6 Screen lock: Keeping a strong screen lock, password or PIN not only for your phone but also for all payment or financial transaction apps is very important. It not only saves your phone from landing in the wrong hands but also helps in avoiding leaking of personal and crucial details. However, you should avoid keeping simple passwords like your name, date of birth, mobile number, etc. (Pixabay)

FTX — 3/6 Do not share your PIN: You should never share your PIN with anyone. Sharing your PIN makes you vulnerable for frauds as anyone can access your phone and transfer the amount. In case you feel that your PIN has been exposed, you should change it immediately. (Saumya Khandelwal/HT PHOTO)

image caption — 4/6 Do not click on unverified links or attend fake calls: Lots of fake messages containing links of some unverified keeps on popping in your inbox. You should avoid clicking on such links as it can cause you huge financial losses. You should also avoid picking up fake calls. The caller pretends to be calling from your bank or some other organisation and can ask you for your details like PIN, OTP, etc. Hackers usually share links or make calls and ask users to download a third-party app for verification. It can be noted that banks never ask for PIN, OTP or any other personal details. (Reuters)

FTX — 6/6 Avoid using multiple payment applications: You should avoid keeping multiple payment applications in your phone and should install only the trusted and verified payment applications from the PlayStore or App Store. (Bloomberg)

FTX — Bankman-Fried, 31, acknowledged sharing the documents with a Times reporter. (AFP)

Sam Bankman-Fried must be jailed pending his October fraud trial over the collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange he founded because he is trying to intimidate witnesses and influence their testimony, prosecutors said on Friday.

Bankman-Fried, a former billionaire, has lived mainly under house arrest at his parents' Palo Alto, California, home since his December 2022 extradition from the Bahamas.

His bail, which includes a $250 million bond, became an issue after the New York Times on July 20 published an article containing excerpts from his former romantic partner Caroline Ellison's personal Google documents prior to FTX's collapse.

Bankman-Fried, 31, acknowledged sharing the documents with a Times reporter. The U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan said that crossed the line, and that Bankman-Fried's efforts to intimidate witnesses amounted to witness tampering.

" he defendant certainly has the right to speak and defend himself to the press," prosecutors said in a letter to U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan.

"What the defendant may not do, and what he has now done repeatedly, is seek to corruptly influence witnesses and interfere with a fair trial through attempted public harassment and shaming," prosecutors added.

A spokesperson for Bankman-Fried declined to comment. His lawyers have until Aug. 1 to respond to the government's letter.

Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to stealing billions of dollars in FTX customer funds to plug losses at his Alameda Research hedge fund, where Ellison was chief executive.

Prosecutors first made their surprise request to detain Bankman-Fried before his Oct. 2 trial at a Wednesday hearing, where Kaplan barred Bankman-Fried from discussing the case.

His lawyer said at Wednesday's hearing that Bankman-Fried's communications with journalists were simply a means to protect his reputation.

Prosecutors had in January accused Bankman-Fried of seeking to influence the testimony of an FTX lawyer.

In writings cited by the Times, Ellison described being "unhappy and overwhelmed" with her job and feeling "hurt/rejected" from her breakup with Bankman-Fried.

Ellison pleaded guilty to fraud charges and is expected to testify against Bankman-Fried at trial.

She said in court last December that Bankman-Fried and other FTX executives received billions of dollars in hidden loans from Alameda.

Two former FTX executives, Gary Wang and Nishad Singh, have also pleaded guilty over FTX's collapse and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.

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