1 year ago
Sam Bankman-Fried's lawyers tin question Department of Justice witnesses astir their recreational cause usage during the FTX founder's fraud proceedings adjacent month, a justice ruled Tuesday.
Judge Lewis Kaplan, of the Southern District of New York, resolved the bulk of outstanding in limine, oregon pretrial, motions successful a 16-page bid Tuesday, allowing the DOJ to admit definite evidence. He besides denied the DOJ's motions to artifact the defence squad from cross-examining witnesses astir privileged issues, and denied Bankman-Fried's team's question to artifact immoderate grounds tied to the cryptocurrency exchange's bankruptcy.
He denied the DOJ's question to artifact the defence squad from "cross-examining witnesses astir their recreational cause use," though helium added that the defence squad "shall not present the taxable successful the beingness of the assemblage absent anterior announcement to the Court and the government."
He did let the DOJ to bring guardant grounds that suggests Bankman-Fried not lone created the FTT token, but directed Alameda to clasp a ample magnitude of it and supported marketplace manipulation of the token.
"The alleged manipulation of the cryptocurrency tokens, which resulted successful an alleged manipulation of Alameda’s equilibrium sheet, was an enactment 'done successful furtherance of the alleged conspiracy' and truthful is considered 'part of the precise enactment charged,'" helium wrote. "Moreover, defendant’s alleged directive to [former Alameda Research CEO Caroline] Ellison to manipulate the terms of FTT is nonstop grounds of their 'relationship of communal trust.' The probative worth of this grounds outweighs immoderate hazard of unfair prejudice. It is admissible."
The justice added that definite issues which whitethorn sway the assemblage could beryllium addressed with a assemblage instruction, which helium "would entertain if requested."
He declined to regularisation connected the defense's question to present grounds that Bankman-Fried's usage of autodeletion policies connected messaging apps was astatine the absorption of the FTX founder's erstwhile lawyers, and denied without prejudice a DOJ question to admit definite out-of-court statements from witnesses. The DOJ tin effort to bring those statements up, but the justice needs to cognize the specifics of what those statements are about, helium wrote.
The proceedings is acceptable to statesman connected Oct. 3.
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