(Adds details)
By Luc Cohen and Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK, Feb 6 (Reuters) - FTX founder Sam
Bankman-Fried has reached an agreement with U.S. prosecutors
that would let him contact some current or former employees of
cryptocurrency companies he once controlled, even as he accepts
other restrictive bail conditions.
In a letter to the judge overseeing the former billionaire's
criminal fraud case, defense lawyer Mark Cohen said the terms
more clearly define how Bankman-Fried can communicate with
others as he prepares for his scheduled October trial.
Cohen also offered to withdraw a request that Bankman-Fried
be able to access and transfer cryptocurrency, if U.S. District
Judge Lewis Kaplan approves the agreement over communications.
Bankman-Fried, 30, has been free on $250 million bond and
required to live with his parents in California since pleading
not guilty to looting billions of dollars from the now-bankrupt
FTX exchange.
Kaplan had last week temporarily barred Bankman-Fried from
contacting employees of FTX and his hedge fund Alameda Research,
or using apps such as Signal that let users auto-delete
messages.
Those restrictions were added after prosecutors raised
concern that Bankman-Fried might tamper with witnesses.
The proposed agreement would still bar Bankman-Fried from
entering financial transactions over $1,000, except to pay his
lawyers.
A spokesperson for U.S. Attorney Damian Williams in
Manhattan did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Cohen said prosecutors agreed to exempt some people from the
no-contact order, without specifying names.
Bankman-Fried's lawyers had proposed that he not be allowed
to talk with select colleagues, including former Alameda chief
Caroline Ellison, former FTX technology chief Zixiao "Gary" Wang
and former FTX engineering chief Nishad Singh.
Ellison and Wang have pleaded guilty and are cooperating
with prosecutors.
Last month, prosecutors first sounded the alarm about
possible witness tampering.
They cited a Jan. 15 message that Bankman-Fried sent to the
general counsel of the FTX U.S. affiliate, proposing that they
speak on the phone to try to "have a constructive relationship"
or "vet things with each other."
Bankman-Fried's lawyers countered that their client was
simply trying to provide help.
Monday's agreement would let Bankman-Fried communicate by
phone and email, use WhatsApp if he installed monitoring
technology and preserved his messages, and use Zoom, iMessage
and Facebook messenger. He would remain unable to use Signal.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen and Jonathan Stempel in New York;
Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
Messaging: Twitter: @cohenluc))
