Sam Bankman-Fried sent to jail over witness tampering, VPN use charges

San Francisco, Aug 12

Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO of the collapsed crypto exchange FTX, has been sent to jail after a judge removed his bail, citing violations like witness tampering.

Bankman-Fried had been on house arrest in California since December 2022 while awaiting trial on fraud and money laundering charges.

According to Inner City Press, judge Lewis A. Kaplan ordered late on Friday that he be remanded after prosecutors pushed to have his bail revoked.

They said that Bankman-Fried’s admitted usage of VPN software to watch an NFL game.

“He subscribed from the Bahamas and used a VPN as if he were in the Bahamas when he was in Palo Alto and could have watched it on public TV. It shows the mindset. All things considered I am going to revoke bail,” ordered judge Kaplan.

Bankman-Fried was free on a $250 million bail.

He, however, allegedly contacted a witness over encrypted messaging platform Signal.

He had filed a pre-trial motion to dismiss 10 out of 13 charges against him.

Bankman-Fried was under house arrest at his parent's house in Palo Alto, California.

The US authorities charged him with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to misuse customer funds.

He is also facing suits by the SEC and CFTC over similar charges.

The US District Court for Southern District of New York has charged him for allegedly bribing Chinese officials "at least $40 million".

The US Department of Justice alleged that Bankman-Fried "authorised and directed a bribe of at least $40 million to one or more Chinese government officials".

The Justice Department said the Bankman-Fried wanted access to the funds in order to assist Alameda "in obtaining and retaining business".

Bankman-Fried has also been charged with four additional counts of fraud, including unlawful political contributions leading up to the 2022 midterm elections.

He was arrested in the Bahamas on December 12, 2022 and extradited to the US on December 21.