Judge temporarily bars Sam Bankman-Fried from contacting FTX, Alameda employees as DOJ alleges witness tampering

• Prosecutors claim SBF contacted multiple current and former employees earlier this month.
• The DOJ asked the court to stop him from contacting employees via encrypted apps like Signal.

The federal judge overseeing the case against Sam Bankman-Fried has temporarily granted the prosecution's request to bar the FTX cofounder from contacting current or former employees amid allegations of potential witness tampering.

In a letter filed Friday in federal court, the Department of Justice claimed that Bankman-Fried contacted FTX's current general counsel, among others, using the encrypted messaging app Signal.

"I would really love to reconnect and see if there's a way for us to have a constructive relationship, use each other as resources when possible, or at least vet things with each other," Bankman-Fried allegedly texted the general counsel, according to prosecutors.

Judge Lewis Kaplan temporarily granted the prosecution's request, barring Bankman-Fried from contacting employees considered potential witnesses by the DOJ without an attorney present, and forbidding him from using encrypted messaging apps like Signal.

Kaplan ordered that the conditions be added to Bankman-Fried's bond until oral arguments from both sides could be made in a hearing set for February 7.

Caroline Ellison — ex-girlfriend of Bankman-Fried and former CEO of his company Alameda Research — is also cited in the judge's order and the prosecution's letter. Ellison, who pleaded guilty and is cooperating with the government, told investigators that Bankman-Fried formerly stated or implied that not having permanent records of messages could make it more difficult for a hypothetical future case to be built against his companies or himself.

While witness tampering is often associated with threats or intimidation, the DOJ's letter notes that conversations can also be deemed as interference in an investigation.

Prosecutors said they want Bankman-Fried's contact to be limited as soon as possible to prevent any potential witness tampering before the government can interview employees they may not have spoken to yet, the letter states.

In a response letter filed to the court Saturday morning, Bankman-Fried's lawyers proposed forbidding contact with a select list of witnesses, as they argued it is unreasonable to prohibit contact to hundreds of current and former employees.

Bankman-Fried's lawyers also said the message to FTX's general counsel is "more reasonably read" as an offer to help FTX navigate its ongoing bankruptcy case. They noted that his Signal messages no longer have the auto-delete function turned on, adding it was "irrelevant" to mention Ellison's comments about the benefits of the function.

Judge Kaplan's reading of the message to the general counsel is more closely aligned with the prosecution's letter, as he wrote that with the preliminary evidence available, it appears Bankman-Fried is attempting to mend a damaged relationship with the counsel.

"The message in its entirety seems to be an invitation for Witness-1 to align his views and recollections with defendant's version of events and thus make their relationship 'constructive,'" the Wednesday morning order reads.