Sam Bankman-Fried was blocked from using virtual private networks while on bail, with the judge overseeing his fraud case expressing concern that VPNs present similar risks as encrypted messaging apps.
(Bloomberg) — Sam Bankman-Fried was blocked from using virtual private networks while on bail, with the judge overseeing his fraud case expressing concern that VPNs present similar risks as encrypted messaging apps.
US District Judge Lewis Kaplan added VPNs to the list of technologies Bankman-Fried was barred from using. The judge previously rejected a revised bail deal that would allow the FTX co-founder to use certain messaging apps and also make Zoom and FaceTime calls.
Kaplan will hold a hearing on revisions to the $250 million bail package on Thursday.
At a hearing last week, Kaplan expressed concern that Bankman-Fried would easily find ways to shield communications with witnesses in the fraud case without further restrictions. He noted that encrypted 15th Century letters sent by the imprisoned Mary, Queen of Scots, had only recently been deciphered.
“You don’t think this defendant is bright enough to encrypt something without a computer?” Kaplan asked in court. He suggested prosecutors’ focus on apps like Signal was “short-sighted.”
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