Sam Bankman-Fried’s bond guarantors should be public, judge says

(NEW YORK) — Sam Bankman-Fried’s bond guarantors should be named publicly, a federal judge ruled Monday after news organizations objected to the names being redacted.

Bankman-Fried was released on a $250 million personal recognizance bond co-signed by his parents and two other non-parental sureties.

The judge agreed with news organizations who argued the public interest weighed in favor of allowing the two names to be released. Bankman-Fried argued there was a risk of physical threats to the parties if their names were exposed.

“If the names of the non-parental sureties are disclosed, it is reasonable to assume that those individuals will become subject to publicity that they would prefer not to attract,” Judge Lewis Kaplan said. “But that alone does not do the trick.”

The judge’s decision comes as prosecutors pushed again on Monday for a ban on Sam Bankman-Fried reaching out to potential witnesses

Kaplan stayed his order until Feb. 7 to allow for an appeal.

Bankman-Fried was charged with fraud and conspiracy following the collapse of the crypto platform he founded, FTX.

Prosecutors asked the judge to modify the conditions of the bond and order Bankman-Fried not to contact or communicate with current or former FTX or Alameda employees and not to use any encrypted messaging apps.

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