DOJ is trying to limit Sam Bankman-Fried’s bail terms by using only flip phones

The U.S. Justice Department has proposed new bail conditions for former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), according to a March 3 lawsuit.

Bankman-Fried should be prohibited from using smartphones, tablets, computers, and video game platforms or use that allows chat and voice communication. The proposal limits its communications to “a flip phone or other non-smartphone with no internet capabilities or internet capabilities disabled.”

Attorney Damian Williams’ document “on behalf of the parties” also calls for the recently imposed temporary bail conditions to be made permanent. The plan is believed to have been negotiated with the SBF defense team, who were requested to submit a proposal by March 3.

The temporary terms include no contact or communication with current or former employees of FTX or Alameda Research, except in the presence of counsel, along with a ban on using any encrypted or ephemeral calling or messaging application, as well as a virtual private network or VPN .

Bankman-Fried’s access to websites would also be restricted to a whitelist of pre-approved pages, including YouTube, Wikipedia, Etherscan, NFL, DoorDash, Netflix and government websites. Under the proposed terms, the former CEO of FTX is also allowed to visit news websites, including Cointelegraph.

Furthermore, security software to log his online activities. In addition, the proposal notes that:

“​​Fifth, the defendant will not object to the installation of court-authorized pen registers on his phone number, Gmail account, and Internet service. Those pen register orders will be requested by the government and maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”

Bankman-Fried’s $250 million bail has been under investigation since Feb. 9, after it emerged he had contacted potential witnesses about his case. He was also temporarily banned from using a VPN after prosecutors accused him of using it twice, on January 29 and February 12.

The court on Feb. 22 unsealed a replacement indictment against Bankman-Fried with 12 criminal counts, including eight conspiracy-related fraud charges and four counts of bank fraud and securities fraud.