By George Ward
A New York judge, Kevin Castel, has greenlighted prosecutors’ request to postpone the civil proceedings against the ex-CEO of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, by the SEC and CFTC. According to reports, the civil proceedings will commence after Bankman-Fried’s October criminal trial.
New York Judge Shifts SEC And CFTC Case
The latest news means the SEC and CFTC filings will be stopped until the conclusion of the DoJ’s criminal trial. The U.S. Attorney for New York’s Southern District, Damian Williams, submitted the motion on February 7th.
While submitting the proposal, Williams highlighted reasons why the Judge should postpone the case. He emphasized that he sought the delay because all three cases are expected to rely on the same evidence against the former CEO.
Additionally, he noted that the DoJ’s trial slated for October would have a massive effect on the civil cases. Furthermore, he proposed that if the cases were not delayed, Bankman-Fried could gain an unfair advantage in the October case.
According to the Attorney, Bankman-Fried can get impeachment material on the witnesses illegally, bypass criminal discovery rules, and adjust his defense to help him win the criminal case. However, SBF’s legal team did not contest William’s request to postpone the proceedings.
As part of his bail conditions, Judge Lewis Kaplan recently extended the ban on Bankman-Fried’s usage of messaging applications until February 21st. There have been allegations that Bankman-Fried was trying to message witnesses.
FTX Allegedly Spent Millions On Private Properties In The Bahamas
One week earlier, Bankman-Fried’s legal team had asked the court to allow him to use specific encrypted applications under proper supervision. Nevertheless, Judge Kaplan disagreed and indicated that he would not allow the former billionaire to use encrypted communication channels.
According to him, doing so will give the former CEO some comfort. Moreover, the crypto community criticized the court heavily when it granted Bankman-Fried a $250M bond bail. In other news, FTX’s joint provisional liquidators disclosed last week that the exchange possessed a fleet of cars worth over $2.4M in the Bahamas.
Per an affidavit submitted by a PricewaterhouseCoopers partner to the Bahamas’ supreme court last week, the JPLs (Journal of Property Lawyers) stated that FTX had bought 52 properties, with some registered under the names of FTX employees or relatives of Bankman-Fried.
However, FTX Digital provided the financing. An FTX subsidiary acquired these properties, which comprised commercial office space and residences for FTX workers, with a value of around $255 million.
Furthermore, the JPLs identified other properties, such as computer equipment, office furniture, and leased storage units. Meanwhile, the liquidators noted that they would initiate asset sales once they received the court’s approval.