• The names of two guarantors who signed off on Sam Bankman-Fried’s $250 million bail bond will remain a secret for now.
• Bankman Fried’s lawyers filed an appeal to block the release of the guarantors‘ names last-minute on Feb. 7.
• A judge has also rejected an agreement that would have permitted Bankman-Fried to use certain messaging apps.
Lawyers Move To Block Release Of Bail Guarantors’ Identities
Bankman Fried’s lawyers filed an appeal to block the release of the guarantors‘ names last-minute on Feb. 7, preventing the order from being enforced until Feb. 14 to allow for an application for a further stay. This was expected after a Jan. 30 ruling in which United States District Judge Lewis Kaplan granted a joint petition from eight major media outlets seeking to unseal the guarantors‘ names.
Arguments By Bankman-Fried’s Lawyers
Judge Kaplan noted his order was likely to be appealed given the novelty of the circumstances and stated arguments by Bankman-Fried’s lawyers that guarantors „would face similar intrusions“ as Bankman-Fried’s parents lacked merit given the size of their individual bonds were much smaller at $200,000 and $500,000 respectively. Additionally, he said that since these guarantors had voluntarily signed individual bonds in a „highly publicized criminal proceeding,“ they had opened themselves up to public scrutiny.
Other Parties Who Signed Off On Bond
The other two parties who signed off on the bond were Sam Bankman-Fried’s parents; Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried who put down their own money as part of this arrangement with much lower sums than those put forward by the two unknown guarantors ($200,000 and $500,000 respectively).
Rejection Of Agreement For Use Of Messaging Apps
Furthermore, Judge Kaplan also rejected an agreement that would have permitted Bankman-Fried to use certain messaging apps while under house arrest as part of his bail conditions; however he did not elaborate any further on why this was declined or what specific messaging applications were involved in this disagreement between both parties (Bankman-Fried and US Attorney).
Conclusion
In short, it appears that due to last minute appeals made by Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyers, it is unlikely we will find out who these two anonymous bond guarantor are until at least Feb 14th when there could possibly be another hearing regarding this matter or any further stay made against it being revealed in public domain; something which all 8 major media outlets involved in this case had been hoping for all along but now must await patiently until then if anything changes or update is provided about it .