Judge finally Disclosed Identities of Sam Bankman-Fried’s Guarantors

Based on the outcome of the court sitting on Feb. 15, a federal judge has approved the disclosure of the identities of the embattled FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s guarantors as per a report. 

BREAKING: The US FTX judge has ordered the names of the two backers of Sam Bankman-Fried’s $250 million bail to be made public.

One is Andreas Paepcke. Paepcke is a Senior Research Scientist at Stanford.

The other Larry Kramer. Kramer is the former dean of Stanford Law School.

— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) February 15, 2023

According to court records, the two sureties were identified as former Stanford Law School dean Larry Kramer and Stanford University research scientist Andreas Paepcke, who collectively signed as guarantors to SBF’s $250 million bond.

UNSEALED: Here's one of Sam Bankman-Fried's bond co-signers, which Inner City Press first asked to unseal by letter motion on January 3: It's Andreas Paepcke 1/x pic.twitter.com/cyxw3ChvCw

— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) February 15, 2023

The disclosure was approved by the Judge following persistent requests from multiple media sites. In a letter dated January 12 to Judge Lewis Kaplan, eight significant news organizations asked the court to reveal the identities of the two people “who gave Mr. Bankman-Fried with financial backing.” 

While the judge initially granted the motion but postponed disclosing the names of the guarantors until February 7 in order to give SBF’s legal counsel time to file an appeal, the identities were concealed until February 14 after SBF’s counsel appealed it.

Meanwhile, a Feb. 15 report from Business Insider revealed that one of the sureties Larry kramer had been friends with Bankman and Fried since the 1990s, stressing that his $500,000 contribution was due to the close relationship he shared with the Bankmans.

On the other hand, there is no clarity as regards the relationship between Andreas Paepcke and the Bankmans that propelled the former to stand as surety. 

It would be recalled that SBF was given a bail confinement to his parent’s California home with a $250 million bond in December. He was only allowed to travel for court appearances and other allotments because of the bail restrictions that forced him to remain confined at home. 

SBF’s Prosecution Continues Unabated

While SBF’s counsels made relentless efforts in preventing the disclosure of SBF’s sureties due to intense media scrutiny, it appears that was a lost ground already.

As his prosecution continues, it appears that SBF would no longer be allowed to play League of Legends following Feb. 15 letter to United States District Judge Lewis Kaplan seeking court to expand restrictions covering SBF’s electronic device. 

More than any other time, the judicial proceedings should be accelerated with a view to establishing the facts behind the FTX collapse and indicted individuals should be prosecuted accordingly.