By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Legal professionals for Sam Bankman-Fried on Saturday urged a U.S. decide to not ban the indicted FTX cryptocurrency govt from speaking with former colleagues as a part of his bail, saying prosecutors “sandbagged” the method to place their consumer within the “worst potential gentle.”

The attorneys had been responding to a Friday evening request by federal prosecutors that Bankman-Fried not be allowed to speak with most staff of FTX or his Alameda Analysis hedge fund with out attorneys current, or use the encrypted messaging apps Sign or Slack and doubtlessly delete messages mechanically.

Bankman-Fried, 30, has been free on $250 million bond since pleading not responsible to costs of fraud within the looting of billions of {dollars} from the now-bankrupt FTX.

Prosecutors mentioned their request was in response to Bankman-Fried’s latest effort to contact a possible witness in opposition to him, the final counsel of an FTX affiliate, and was wanted to forestall witness tampering and different obstruction of justice.

However in a letter to U.S. District Decide Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan, Bankman-Fried’s attorneys mentioned prosecutors sprung the “overbroad” bail circumstances with out revealing that each side had been discussing bail during the last week.

“Reasonably than watch for any response from the protection, the federal government sandbagged the method, submitting this letter at 6:00 p.m. on Friday night,” Bankman-Fried’s attorneys wrote. “The federal government apparently believes {that a} one-sided presentation – spun to place our consumer within the worst potential gentle – is one of the simplest ways to get the result it seeks.”

Bankman-Fried’s attorneys additionally mentioned their consumer’s efforts to contact the final counsel and John Ray, put in as FTX’s chief govt in the course of the chapter, had been makes an attempt to supply “help” and to not intervene.

A spokesman for U.S. Legal professional Damian Williams in Manhattan declined to remark.

Bankman-Fried’s attorneys proposed that their consumer have entry to some colleagues, together with his therapist, however not be allowed to speak with Caroline Ellison and Zixiao “Gary” Wang, who’ve pleaded responsible and are cooperating with prosecutors.

They mentioned a Sign ban is not obligatory as a result of Bankman-Fried will not be utilizing the auto-delete function, and concern he would possibly is “unfounded.”

The attorneys additionally requested to take away a bail situation stopping Bankman-Fried from accessing FTX, Alameda or cryptocurrency belongings, saying there was “no proof” he was answerable for earlier alleged unauthorized transactions.

In an order on Saturday, Kaplan gave prosecutors till Monday to handle Bankman-Fried’s considerations.

“The courtroom expects all counsel to abstain from pejorative characterizations of the actions and motives of their adversaries,” the decide added.