A U.S. judge on Wednesday temporarily barred FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried from contacting current or former employees of the cryptocurrency exchange or his Alameda Research hedge fund, and from using encrypted messaging tools including Signal, Reuters reported. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan came after federal prosecutors in Manhattan said Bankman-Fried might tamper with witnesses or destroy evidence in his criminal fraud case. He was arrested in December on charges of looting billions of FTX customer funds, and lying to investors and lenders. Prosecutors last week cited a Signal message Bankman-Fried sent on Jan. 15 to the general counsel of the FTX U.S. affiliate, referred to in court papers as "Witness-1." Bankman-Fried proposed the two speak on the phone to try to "have a constructive relationship" or "vet things with each other." Bankman-Fried, 30, has been under house arrest at his parents' California home after pleading not guilty. His lawyers said last week that his efforts to contact the general counsel the company's current chief executive, John Ray, were attempts to offer "assistance" and not to interfere.
