In a bid to ensure the anonymity of the bail guarantors’ identities of the former FTX founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), lawyers have filed an appeal on Feb 7, praying that the court conceals the names of the two bond guarantors.
Following the steps by the lawyers, the identities of the two guarantors who signed off on part of SBF’s $250 million bail bond will continue to be concealed until at least Feb. 14. Although the appeal did not contain arguments against the disclosure.
In a related development, the judge rejected an agreement that would have empowered SBF to be allowed to use certain messaging apps.
It is noteworthy that the appeal was filed by SBF lawyers following a Jan. 30 ruling in which United States Judge Lewis Kaplan approved a joint petition from eight different media houses seeking to unravel the guarantors’ identities.
At the time, Kaplan instructively maintained that his ruling would likely be appealed given the circumstances surrounding the issue.
He stated that claims by Bankman-Fried’s lawyers that guarantors “would face similar intrusions” as Bankman-Fried’s parents lacked merit given the size of their bonds was much smaller, at $200K and $500K.
It would be recalled that Bankman Fried’s parents — Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried — were the other two parties who signed off on the bond.
Meanwhile, Kaplan on Feb 7. categorically rejected a joint agreement between SBF’s legal team and prosecutors that would have partly modified bail conditions, thereby empowering SBF to use some messaging apps.
Are SBF Lawyers on Due Diligence?
While SBF lawyers have been making ceaseless efforts in defending and protecting SBF, the claim that each lawyer is reportedly paid $2000 per hour according to BI has raised several questions.
This is not unconnected to the report that the new FTX CEO John Ray was paid $690,000 between November and December when he took over the bankrupted crypto company. In view of this, a user Origin protocol queried if they were being paid with users’ lost money.
Amid the lingering legal tussle, FTX lawyers have corroborated claims by SBF that FTX US was solvent even at the point when it was declared bankrupt.
