Sam Bankman-Fried's $250M bail guarantors to be made public, says judge

The two people who helped former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried with his $250 million bail bond could have their identities revealed next month after a recent ruling by United States District Judge Lewis Kaplan.

According to the Jan. 30 filing, Kaplan granted the application to reveal the names of the two individuals to the public.

However, Judge Kaplan has given Bankman-Fried’s legal counsel until Feb. 7 to appeal.

Bankman-Fried was released from custody in December 2022 after two unknown people signed on as sureties for the $250 million bond along with Bankman-Fried’s parents, Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried.

Eight major media companies, including Bloomberg, the Financial Times and Reuters, demanded public disclosure of the two individuals responsible for guaranteeing the bond in a Jan. 12 letter addressed to New York District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan.

Related: Sam Bankman-Fried: ‘I didn’t steal funds, and I certainly didn’t stash billions away’

Attorneys from Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, acting on behalf of the media giants, argued that “the public’s right to know Bankman-Fried’s guarantors outweighed their privacy and safety rights.”

Bankman-Fried’s lawyers had continued to argue that the identities should be kept a secret, fearing the individuals would face harassment.

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