The announcement came ahead of a trial scheduled for October on the FTX collapse and Sam Bankman-Fried’s role in it. At a hearing in Manhattan federal court, prosecutor Danielle Sassoon said that “no release conditions can ensure the safety of the public.”
The request came after Bankman-Fried turned over to a New York Times reporter the personal records of Caroline Ellison, who ran his cryptocurrency hedge fund Alameda Research and who is set to testify against him. According to prosecutors, Bankman-Fried’s actions amounted to witness tampering.
A federal court recently denied a defense motion to dismiss most of the charges against Bankman-Friede. Defense attorneys argued that some of the charges were repetitive. The attorneys also asked the judge to dismiss fraud charges against Bankman-Fried related to his alleged use of FTX clients’ assets to back his own investments through Alameda Research.
Bankman-Fried faces more than 100 years in prison if convicted and sentenced to the maximum term on all counts, including the fraud charges, in connection with his and other FTX executives’ alleged use of billions in client assets for their own investments. He is currently under house arrest at his parents’ home.