In a Feb. 7 filing for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Lewis Kaplan denied a motion proposing Bankman-Fried be allowed to use messaging services

A federal judge has denied a joint agreement between Sam Bankman-Fried’s (SBF) legal team and prosecutors that would have permitted the former CEO of the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX to use certain messaging apps.

In a February 7 filing for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Lewis Kaplan denied a motion suggesting SBF be permitted to use messaging services, such as FaceTime, Zoom and Facebook Messenger. The judge didn’t provide a reason for denying the motion ‘without prejudice’ but said that the matter would be subject to oral arguments in a hearing on February 9.

Prosecutors filed a motion in January proposing that Bankman-Fried not be allowed to use ‘any encrypted or ephemeral call or messaging application’ as a condition of his bail after allegations of contacting witnesses. Judge Kaplan ruled on February 1 that Bankman-Fried was prohibited from contacting employees of FTX and Alameda via the Signal app, citing a risk of ‘inappropriate contact with prospective witnesses.’

However, federal prosecutors discussed amending the bail condition with SBF’s lawyers, which would have permitted him to access FaceTime, Zoom, iMessage, SMS text, email and Facebook Messenger. Bankman-Fried would also have been permitted to use WhatsApp if ‘monitoring technology is installed on his cellphone that automatically logs and preserves all WhatsApp communications.’

Authorities alleged SBF had tried to impact witnesses based on communications revealed between SBF and FTX US general counsel Ryne Miller and current FTX CEO John Ray. The February 1 ruling doesn’t permit communications between Bankman-Fried and current or former employees of FTX or Alameda Research ‘except in the presence of counsel.’

SBF was arrested in December and charged with eight counts of criminal conduct, which include wire fraud in the Southern District of New York. His trial is set to begin in October, while FTX’s bankruptcy case is ongoing in the District of Delaware. Bankman-Fried remains under house arrest at his parents’ California home, allowed to leave only for sanctioned events, which include court appearances.