Cryptocurrency entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, was led out of a federal courtroom in restraints on Friday after a judge determined that he had engaged in repeated attempts to influence witnesses against him.
In a dramatic turn of events, Bankman-Fried lowered his head as Judge Lewis A. Kaplan meticulously detailed his decision to revoke the entrepreneur’s $250 million bail package.
The judge asserted that Bankman-Fried’s actions had pushed the boundaries to a degree where community safety, including that of the prosecutors’ witnesses, could no longer be ensured without his detention.
Post the proceedings, Bankman-Fried surrendered his personal belongings, shedding his suit jacket and tie, and willingly submitted to handcuffs under the eyes of U.S. marshals. This turn of events marks a significant escalation in the legal proceedings surrounding the fallen cryptocurrency magnate.