Prosecutors Oppose Sam Bankman-Fried’s Request for Internet-Enabled Laptop

In the ongoing legal proceedings against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, the issue of technological accommodations has become a point of contention between his defense team and federal prosecutors.

Bankman-Fried, who is in prison preparing for his October trial, has requested additional technological resources to aid in his defense. However, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) argues that the restrictions imposed on him are necessary due to allegations of witness tampering, CoinDesk reported Wednesday (Aug. 30).

The former FTX CEO’s lawyers recently filed a request for him to get an internet-enabled laptop and access to a cellblock at the federal courthouse in Manhattan, five days a week leading up to the trial, according to the report. Prosecutors, however, contend that the current restrictions placed on Bankman-Fried are merely inconveniences and have not hindered his defense preparations. They emphasize that his access to technological devices for reviewing evidence already exceeds what is typically available to pretrial detainees.

Currently held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, Bankman-Fried is permitted to use a laptop without internet connectivity, the report said. Additionally, he has been granted approval to work from an internet-enabled laptop twice a week at a cellblock in the federal courthouse in Manhattan. Nonetheless, Bankman-Fried has refused to return to the cellblock, seeking more extensive pretrial release measures.

This dispute over technology follows a previous denial by Judge Lewis Kaplan of Bankman-Fried’s request to visit his lawyers’ offices in Manhattan five days a week, according to the report. The denial came after Bankman-Fried lost his bail earlier this month when Judge Kaplan ruled that he had violated his bail restrictions by attempting to intimidate former executives at his companies.

The issue of Bankman-Fried’s access to technology has been a recurring concern in the lead-up to the trial, the report said. Prosecutors have previously raised alarms about his use of a VPN and Google Drive while under house arrest in California, alleging that these tools were employed to tamper with government witnesses.

In March, before Bankman-Fried’s bail was revoked and he was sent to prison, federal prosecutors recommended that he be limited to the use of a flip phone without internet access, and a basic laptop that would have restrictions placed upon it.