Sam Bankman-Fried Allowed to Meet with Lawyers for Controlled, One-Time Internet Access

Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and former CEO of FTX, will be able to meet with his lawyers on Tuesday, according to an Aug. 21 statement. Bankman-Fried's lawyer will be allowed to bring one laptop with Internet access and one Wi-Fi device to the meeting, which will be held from 8:30 am to 3:00 pm. The meeting will take place in the marshal's cell block lawyer's room.

Judge Lewis Kaplan filed a writ of satisfaction in the pending claim.

The terms of the order will also allow Bankman-Freed's attorneys to bring one laptop with Internet access and one Wi-Fi device to the courthouse for a meeting, allowing Bankman-Freed to review evidence and documents relevant to his case.

Judge Kaplan's ruling did not grant all of the lawyers' motions. The Bankman-Freed defense team previously required the defendant to be released from prison five days a week to work on his defense and review documents; They also aimed to bring a total of four devices to meetings. The judge's latest ruling appears to deny these requests, as it states that "the remainder of the request ... is denied."

Bankman-Fried has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, since a court decision on Aug. 11 vacated his bail.

One prosecutor initially suggested that Bankman-Freed could be held at the Putnam County Medium Security Correctional Facility, which would give him Internet access to review documents and evidence. This proposal was not implemented.

Bankman-Freed was jailed because prosecutors were concerned that his actions might interfere with witnesses. These concerns largely stemmed from Bankman-Fried's decision to provide New York Times reporters with information related to Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of FTX subsidiary Alameda Research.

Ellison struck a plea deal with authorities and is expected to be a key witness when the Bankman-Freed trial begins in October.