A US District Judge has banned Sam Bankman-Fried, the former FTX boss, from using a virtual private network (VPN) after he admitted to using it to watch the Super Bowl while under house arrest.
The judge cited the risks associated with using encrypted messaging or call applications and has amended the defendant’s release conditions, effective immediately.
This move comes as Bankman-Fried’s lawyers negotiate his bail terms with prosecutors. Recently, the judge barred Bankman-Fried from using encrypted messaging apps, such as Signal, after he was accused of contacting a potential witness in his criminal case.
Bankman-Fried is also prohibited from contacting current or former FTX employees until his bail conditions are settled.
Bankman-Fried’s lawyers had requested an extension to the deadline for proposing new bail terms until Friday, which the judge denied.
The submissions on Bankman-Fried’s bail conditions are due on Wednesday, and the court will hear arguments on the issue on Thursday afternoon, according to the judge’s order.
The discovery that Bankman-Fried used a VPN has raised concerns that the government may be unable to monitor the websites he visits or the data he sends and receives while using a private network.
According to court filings, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers confirmed on Tuesday that he had used a VPN to watch the AFC and NFC football championship games on Jan. 29, along with the Super Bowl on Sunday.
Bankman-Fried accessed the games with an NFL Game Pass international subscription he had bought when he lived in the Bahamas, and has offered to stay away from the private network until his bail conditions are set.
Bankman-Fried is currently under house arrest on a $250 million bond and could face several decades in jail if he is convicted. The negotiation of his bail terms continues, and it remains to be seen how this latest development will affect his case.
