On January 27, federal prosecutors in Manhattan stated that disgraced crypto public figure Samuel Bankman-Fried “SBF” had attempted to contact a prospective witness in his criminal case, and they urged a judge to impose new bail restrictions limiting his ability to connect with former coworkers.

This month, according to a court complaint made by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, SBF allegedly sent messages through email and the encrypted messaging app Signal to the general counsel of the United States arm of FTX

As stated in the filing, the interaction was evocative of an attempt to sway Witness-1’s prospective witness statements. The filing added that this is deeply worrying considering that the accused is cognizant that Witness-1 has knowledge that would likely implicate him.

Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, who is presiding over Bankman-Fried’s case, was asked by the prosecution to bar the business owner from communicating with current and former FTX employees or making use of Signal or other encrypted messaging apps. The request was made in the context of the case. 

In connection with the collapse of FTX that occurred in November last year, SBF has been charged with fraud, money laundering, and violations of campaign financing laws.

Lawyers for the defunct cryptocurrency exchange claim that Sam Bankman-Fried, his mother, brother, and other former officials from his empire have not been cooperative with their inquiry into FTX’s finances. 

According to a court document made on Jan. 25, ever since the cryptocurrency exchange FTX filed for bankruptcy in November, lawyers have been working tirelessly to find and reclaim the company’s assets. There was talk of issuing subpoenas to Sam Bankman-Fried, his loved ones, and his former subordinates.