A US judge sided with a request by federal prosecutors to revoke the bail of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried over alleged witness tampering. Bankman-Fried headed to jail on Friday after being remanded to custody directly from a court hearing in New York.

Bankman Fried's request for delayed detention pending an appeal was denied by Judge Lewis Kaplan. Unless the appeal is successful, Bankman-Fried is likely to remain in custody until his criminal trial begins on October 2.

“My conclusion is there is probable cause to believe the defendant tried to tamper with witnesses at least twice,” said Judge Kaplan during his ruling.

The government requested that Bankman-Fried be remanded to a jail in Putnam, New York, where he’d have access to a laptop with internet access for defense preparation, as opposed to sending him to Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, the facility closest to the courthouse that has limited internet access for prisoners.

Bankman-Fried’s parents were both in the gallery. His mother had her face buried in her hands for much of Judge Kaplan’s lengthy ruling.

Since his arrest in December, Bankman-Fried had been out on a $250 million bail package which requires him to remain at his parents’ Palo Alto, California house.

Judge Kaplan previously issued a direct and stern warning to Bankman-Fried in July over his conversations with the media.

Lawyers representing the former FTX chief stipulated that with Bankman-Fried jailed, he would not be able to properly prepare for his trial due to the mountainous amounts of discovery documents only accessible via a computer with internet access.

The prosecution has had to cull charges twice to comply with an extradition agreement inked with The Bahamas – where Bankman-Fried was previously held in custody. The government told the Judge in a letter that next week it plans to file a new superseding indictment.

(With Inputs From Agencies.)

First Published:Aug 12, 2023 9:08 AM IST