Bankman-Fried Sought to Influence Witness, Prosecutors Say

FTX co-founder Samuel Bankman-Fried sought to influence a witness in the US government’s criminal fraud case against him, prosecutors said in a filing, asking a judge to stop him from contacting former employees at the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange.

The government also requested an order from the judge prohibiting Bankman-Fried from using any encrypted messaging applications, such as Signal.

Bankman-Fried used Signal and email to contact the current general counsel of FTX — described as Witness-1 — saying he’d “love to reconnect and see if there’s a way for us to have a constructive relationship,” prosecutors said in the filing Friday. ...