FTX founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, may face a delay in his criminal trial as his lawyers claim that they need more time to prepare his defense.
In a letter to United States District Judge Lewis Kaplan, Bankman-Fried’s legal team noted that they are still awaiting a “substantial portion” of evidence and more charges have been laid against their client in late February. However, the lawyers clarified that they were not formally requesting a change in the date yet.
The letter, submitted on March 8th, included several issues that SBF’s lawyers would like to discuss at an upcoming conference scheduled for March 10th. The issues raised in the letter include SBF’s access to the FTX transactional database, bail conditions, motions schedule, and discovery status.
The lawyers requested that Cohen & Gresser’s ShareFile website be added to the list of approved websites that SBF may access. They also noted that he has been unable to begin reviewing the AWS Database. It is a crucial component of the discovery process, as his current bail conditions prohibit him from using a VPN.
The defense has built a custom laptop with the security protocols required by the FTX Debtors and has been ready to send it to SBF for some time.
Under the current motions schedule, the defense’s pretrial motions are due April 3rd, the Government’s response is due April 24th, and the defense’s reply is due May 8th.
FTX Founder With Further Criminal Charges
However, the Government updated the charges against FTX’s SBF, including fraud related to derivative trading, securities fraud, and involvement in unlicensed money transmission.
The defense mentioned that they hadn’t received crucial discovery materials, such as search warrant returns from thirty Google accounts and data from four electronic devices.
Due to the superseding indictment and significant outstanding discovery, SBF’s lawyers have requested a delay in the motions schedule. The defense suggests that pretrial motions be due on May 1st, the Government’s response on May 22nd, and the defense’s reply on June 5th.
Depending on the volume and timing of additional discovery, the defense may need to request an adjournment of the trial, scheduled for October 2nd, 2023.
However, SBF’s lawyers are currently awaiting a substantial portion of evidence and have requested more time to prepare his defense. They have raised several issues that they would like to discuss with the Court at an upcoming conference.
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