There are indications that the US court will be revealing the identities of the sureties of embattled FTX co-founder, Sam Bankman-Fried. According to the latest filing, the judge, Lewis Kaplan has granted the joint petition from eight media firms to unseal the identities of the individuals. Recall that two persons helped the former FTX CEO secured $250 million bail bond last December.
After the activation of the bail bond, the identities of the sureties were not made public. Meanwhile, with the approval of the petition by the media outlets, it is expected that these identities of the two persons would be unveiled next month. According to Kaplan, the petition emanated to aid public’s claimed right of access to the identities.
However, the judge issued an ultimatum to SBF defense team to contest the decision. According to the filing, the legal team of the FTX co-founder would be able to appeal the decision until February 7. Kaplan added that if the team files a notice of appeal, he would extend the deadline till February 14. This, as revealed, tends to permit an application for a further stay to stand.
Bloomberg, Reuters, and others among media outlets seeking the identities of the guarantors of the FTX co-founder
Notably, the media outlets seeking the release of the identities include Bloomberg, Financial Times, Reuters and others. These outlets instituted the filing in a January 12 letter addressed to Kaplan. According to their attorney, Davis Tremaine, the public’s right to know the guarantors of the FTX former CEO outweighs their privacy and safety rights.
Meanwhile, SBF’s lawyers plan to stop the revelation of the sureties’ identities to the public. The team claimed the parents of the FTX co-founder have been the subject of threats as well as those linked to him. Although, Kaplan, in a ruling, maintained that no evidence proved the claims of the lawyers. According to the judge, the parents faced scrutiny due to their relationship to their son. More so, the employment of the father at FTX prior to the collapse of FTX also raised suspicion, Kaplan added.
Worthy of note that the Bahamas authorities nabbed the FTX founder following the collapse of the exchange. Regrettably, the crash worsened the situations for the crypto sphere, condemning investors to a state of dilemma. Following his arrest, the Bahamas authorities resolved to extradite him to the US. Currently, he faces numerous charges at the US court. These charges include wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering.
Read More: