FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyers have been granted permission to visit him in prison as they prepare for his defense, following the denial of his request for daily meetings at their Manhattan office. A federal judge issued an order stating that Bankman-Fried’s lawyers can take full advantage of legal visitation hours at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York. They will have unlimited access to meet and prepare their client for the upcoming weeks-long trial scheduled to begin on October 3.
Bankman-Fried will also have regular access to a computer to review discovery materials, and he can request selected materials to be loaded onto hard drives for his viewing. The order references additional accommodations made by the Bureau of Prisons in New York, although specific details were redacted in a letter filed by prosecutors.
However, Judge Lewis Kaplan’s concessions did not meet the defense’s requests for Bankman-Fried to be released for daily meetings at his lawyers’ Manhattan office or to be transferred to a lower-security prison in Putnam County.
Bankman-Fried was placed in a high-security prison after the judge determined that he violated his bail conditions by attempting to contact witnesses and using a virtual private network (VPN). This comes as he faces allegations of leaking confidential information and attempting to intimidate individuals involved in the case.
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