The U.S. Justice Department has given “millions of pages of documents” linked to SBF’s legal case. His lawyers said it’s too hard to go through them in jail before the trial.
Bankman-Fried’s lawyers submitted a document to a New York court on August 25th. They weren’t happy with how prosecutors planned for him to review materials before the trial. Even though he got about four million pages of materials from the U.S. Justice Department on August 24th, there’s still a lot left to go through.
In the document, they said, “We believe only temporary release can solve these problems and make sure Mr. Bankman-Fried can defend himself properly. Before his bail was revoked, he spent 80-100 hours a week analyzing materials and making detailed reports. He could update these reports and show them to his lawyers whenever needed.”
Bankman-Fried had been on a $250 million bond for around eight months after coming from the Bahamas to the U.S. in December 2022. But his bail was taken away after he was accused of scaring former CEO Caroline Ellison. This happened about two months before his first trial. He’s been at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since August 11th.
Requests for More Freedom Ahead of Trials
After his bail was revoked, SBF’s lawyers wanted fewer restrictions so he could get ready for the trial. On August 21st, a judge said SBF could spend about seven hours in a lawyers’ room in the New York courthouse on August 22nd. Later, the judge allowed him to use that room with one laptop and an internet device when needed, but his lawyers had to inform 48 hours before.
SBF’s legal team said, “Mr. Bankman-Fried needs a computer with internet all the time. This helps him go through discovery documents, find more evidence online, work on analyzing data, and share with his lawyers. The current plan from the Government isn’t enough.”
Upcoming Trials and Defense Strategy
SBF is facing two trials. The first one starts on October 3rd, with seven charges related to financial tricks at FTX and Alameda Research. The second trial, in March 2024, has five more charges.
Based on court documents, SBF’s lawyers might defend him by saying he acted “in good faith” based on advice from Fenwick & West lawyers and FTX’s legal team. Some of the things he’s accused of include telling FTX and Alameda employees to delete specific messages.
Important: Please note that this article is only meant to provide information and should not be taken as legal, tax, investment, financial, or any other type of advice.
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