On Friday, Sam Bankman-Fried will be sent to prison after a judge agreed to a demand by federal prosecutors to annul his FTX founder's bail due to purported witness tampering. Following the court proceedings in New York, Bankman-Fried will be taken into custody and held until his criminal trial commences on October 2.
On Friday, a judge will remand Sam Bankman-Fried to custody directly from a court hearing in New York. The FTX founder had been released on a $250 million bail package, with conditions including remaining at his parents' California home, but federal prosecutors asked for his bail to be revoked due to alleged witness tampering. Judge Lewis Kaplan denied Bankman-Fried's request to delay detention pending an appeal.
Members of the press objected to the detention, claiming Bankman-Fried was asserting his first amendment right and did not break any terms of his bail conditions by speaking with journalists. However, the government argued that Bankman-Fried had communicated with the press excessively and had leaked private diary entries of his ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison to the New York Times, resulting in Judge Kaplan sending the ex-billionaire to jail.
Ellison has been cooperating with the government since December and is expected to be a key witness for the prosecution. Bankman-Fried's trial is expected to begin on October 2, but the prosecution is filing a superseding indictment next week to comply with an extradition agreement with The Bahamas.
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