Sam Bankman-Fried in talks to resolve bail dispute, lawyer says

By Luc Cohen

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Sam Bankman-Fried is in talks with U.S. prosecutors to resolve a dispute over the FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder’s bail conditions, his lawyer said on Thursday.

The judge overseeing Bankman-Fried’s criminal fraud case in federal court in Manhattan on Wednesday temporarily barred the 30-year-old former billionaire from contacting employees of FTX or his Alameda Research hedge fund, after prosecutors raised concerns he might tamper with witnesses.

His lawyers had previously countered that he had contacted current executives at the now-bankrupt exchange to offer “assistance” and not to interfere, and so the additional bail condition was not needed.

Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty and is under house arrest at his parents’ California home.

In a court filing, defense lawyer Mark Cohen asked U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan to postpone a Feb. 7 hearing on the matter, as well as a Feb. 2 deadline to explain why he should be able to access and transfer cryptocurrency before trial.

“The parties would like to continue these discussions, which we are optimistic will lead to an agreement between the parties in the next few days and eliminate the need for further litigation,” Cohen wrote, noting that prosecutors consented to the request.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan declined to comment.

Once worth an estimated $26 billion, Bankman-Fried was arrested in December after FTX collapsed.

Prosecutors have said he looted billions of dollars in FTX customer funds to plug losses at Alameda. Two former colleagues have pleaded guilty and are cooperating with prosecutors.

Bankman-Fried has acknowledged risk management failures, but said FTX collapsed because of a liquidity crunch and that he did not steal funds. A trial is scheduled for Oct. 2.

(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Daniel Wallis)