Sam Bankman-Fried’s legal team is attempting to block certain investors and insiders from testifying at the crypto outcast’s highly publicized fraud trial.
According to a letter sent from the former FTX executive’s legal representatives to Judge Lewis Kaplan, certain investors and witnesses should be kept from going on the public record because the motion to let them testify “is premature and is devoid of the detail on which its requests could plausibly be based.”
“On behalf of our client, Samuel Bankman-Fried, we write to respectfully submit this letter in opposition to the Government’s letter motion in limine requesting to elicit testimony from (i) FTX customer witnesses regarding their understanding of how FTX would or would not use their assets; (ii) FTX investor witnesses regarding their understanding of alleged representations about FTX’s role as a custodian of customer funds; and (iii) alleged co-conspirator witnesses regarding their interpretation of statements made by Mr. Bankman-Fried.”
Previously, Judge Kaplan shot down Sam Bankman-Fried’s request to be temporarily released from prison before his upcoming trial.
Last Monday, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers submitted a formal request for the disgraced former chief executive to be released.
The attorneys argued that Bankman-Fried’s temporary release for the duration of the trial is necessary for the preparation of his defense, citing the highly technical nature of the trial, the prosecution’s list of more than 50 witnesses, and the need to comb through thousands of pages of witness material and more than 1,300 exhibits.
However, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan denied the request.
Bankman-Fried is accused of defrauding investors and mishandling billions of dollars worth of customer funds. If convicted, he faces decades in prison.
Jury selection for the trial begins today.
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