Prosecutors last week cited a Signal message Bankman-Fried sent on Jan. 15 to the general counsel of the FTX U.S. affiliate, referred to in court papers as "Witness-1." Bankman-Fried proposed the two speak on the phone to try to "have a constructive relationship" or "vet things with each other."
Bankman-Fried, 30, has been under house arrest at his parents' California home after pleading not guilty. His lawyers said last week that his efforts to contact the general counsel the company's current chief executive, John Ray, were attempts to offer "assistance" and not to interfere.
Kaplan appeared skeptical of that argument, writing that Bankman-Fried's Jan. 15 message "appears to have been an effort to have both the defendant and Witness-1 sing out of the same hymn book."
"While defendant's counsel seeks to have the Court interpret that message in a benign way, that does not appear, at least on a preliminary basis, to be a persuasive reading," Kaplan wrote.
A spokesperson for Bankman-Fried declined to comment.
Kaplan wrote that the new restrictions on Bankman-Fried's conduct would be in place until at least Feb. 7, when he would hold a hearing to consider both sides' arguments. The order does not apply to Bankman-Fried's immediate family members, and he may communicate with FTX or Alameda employees if lawyers are present.
At next week's hearing, Kaplan will also consider a request by Bankman-Fried's lawyers to allow him to access and transfer cryptocurrency. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ U.S. seeks tighter bail for FTX founder Bankman-Fried to prevent tampering FTX founder Bankman-Fried objects to tighter bail, says prosecutors 'sandbagged' him U.S. says FTX founder Bankman-Fried needs limits on communications, asset access ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
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