Judge blocks Bankman-Fried’s try to download key paperwork in fraud prosecution: Report

Sam Bankman-Fried, the co-founder of FTX, has been denied his request to acquire paperwork from a Silicon Valley regulation company, Fenwick & West LLP, as a part of his protection technique in his ongoing federal fraud case, Bloomberg reported. Bankman-Fried had was hoping to make use of thes paperwork to enhance his declare that he trusted criminal recommendation whilst enticing within the actions for which he’s lately going through prosecution.

In a contemporary construction, Bankman-Fried’s criminal crew approached the pass judgement on overseeing the case, urging the prosecution at hand over the paperwork bought from Fenwick & West or so they can be bought at once thru a subpoena. However, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan pushed aside the request, calling it a “fishing expedition” that would not be justified.

In preparation for his defense, Bankman-Fried’s legal team had planned to argue that he had relied on the advice provided by the law firm Fenwick & West. Bloomberg noted that this strategy is often employed by criminal defendants to counter prosecutors’ claims of intentional lawbreaking. 

The counsel from Fenwick & West reportedly covered various topics, including the use of encrypted messaging apps, multimillion-dollar loans to FTX executives and compliance with United States banking regulations, which Bankman-Fried’s lawyers have argued are integral to the charges leveled against their client.

Related: US lawmaker demands answers from SEC on docs related to Sam Bankman-Fried’s arrest

Bankman-Fried, who is facing two criminal trials, has been accused of orchestrating a complex fraud scheme involving the misappropriation of billions of dollars in FTX customer funds. The funds were allegedly used for high-risk investments, personal expenses and even political donations.

On June 22, FTX initiated a lawsuit in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, aiming to recover more than $700 million from investment firms linked to the company. The lawsuit targets K5 Global, Mount Olympus Capital and SGN Albany Capital, along with their affiliated entities and K5 co-owners Michael Kives and Bryan Baum. FTX alleges that funds were transferred from its affiliated firm, Alameda Research, to these entities through shell companies, and it seeks to reclaim the funds as avoidable transactions.

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