Bankman-Fried Pleads Not Guilty To New Charges; Additional Bail Condition Bans Use Of Online Messengers

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of the controversial crypto empire FTX, pleaded not guilty to criminal charges recently added by U.S. prosecutors, days after a new condition that prohibits him from using online messengers was added to his bail agreement.

A superseding indictment unsealed Tuesday in the Southern District of New York added more criminal charges to Bankman-Fried's growing list of legal offenses, charging the disgraced crypto kingpin with conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

The new bribery charge alleged that Bankman-Fried, more popularly known as SBF in the crypto space, attempted to use more than $40 million in cryptocurrency to buy off one Chinese government official to unlock frozen funds tied to Alameda Research, the crypto hedge fund he founded, which is now, like all his other businesses, bankrupt.

The indictment came just a few weeks after SBF was hit with bank fraud charges and campaign finance allegations, adding to his legal turmoil.

Bankman-Fried's lawyer, Mark Cohen, told reporters this week that the legal team will file a motion to attenuate some of the charges and request the court not to try SBF on all counts. Cohen said the crypto executive cannot be tried on charges filed post his extradition from the Bahamas last December.

"My client is not acknowledging he can be tried," Cohen noted.

Bankman-Fried's lawyers have also reached a new bail agreement with the U.S. prosecutors, which now includes a restriction on the use of electronic devices and apps.

The new bail conditions, which are subject to approval by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, prohibit the crypto kingpin from using a smartphone with internet access and his phone functions will be limited to text messaging and voice calls.

Bankman-Fried's parents, in a letter earlier this week, reportedly agreed with the new bail conditions and said they would restrict their son's access to their devices. They also said they would not bring prohibited electronic devices into their home, where SBF is currently staying.

Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to all 13 charges filed against him. He is waiting for his first criminal trial, which is set for Oct. 2.

One of the U.S. prosecutors, Nicolas Roos, told the judge Thursday that the government has produced six million pages of documents to Bankman-Fried's legal team.

He also informed the court that prosecutors were trying to get information from seven laptops and phones that belonged to the crypto mogul and several other personalities involved in the controversial case.