Do Kwon out on bail once again after court dismisses prosecution appeal

June 5, 2023 Coin Telegraph

The Terraform Labs co-founder is out on bail after a successful appeal in Montenegro but will be closely monitored until his next court appearance.

Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon has been granted bail in Montenegro after an appeals process by prosecutors was dismissed by a Montenegrin court on June 2.

According to an official release from the Basic Court in Podgorica, an appeal against an earlier bail agreement by the State Prosecutor’s Office was cast aside, allowing Kwon and Terraform Labs’ chief financial officer Han Chang-Joon to await further legal proceedings under house arrest in the country.

The court readopted bail terms originally set out in a hearing on May 12 , with the pair having to pay 400,000 euros ($436,000) each to be released from custody. Kwon and Chang-Joon are now under strict bail terms and cannot leave the latter’s legal residence in Montenegro.

The pair are set to be closely monitored by local police. If either leaves the residence or violates supervision measures, the bail will be forfeited.

Kwon and Chang-Joon provided personal and financial information to local authorities, which included evidence of a sales contract and property registration for an apartment, parking space and basement owned by Chang-Joon.

Kwon reportedly supplied an invoice for a vehicle and bank accounts statements, with the bail terms set so that the defendants would be discouraged from attempting to flee the country.

Kwon and Chang-Joon were arrested in Montenegro in March 2023 after allegedly using false travel documents when trying to leave the country. The two had their original passports confiscated in South Korea in October 2022.

The court noted that verifying the authenticity of Belgian passports and identity cards held by the pair would require more time and highlighted that the agreed-upon bail amount “is a sufficient guarantee of securing the presence of the defendants.”

Kwon remains a wanted figure in several jurisdictions. South Korean authorities want to extradite the Terraform Labs co-founder for investigations into the infamous collapse of the Terra ecosystem, which wiped out an estimated $40 billion from the cryptocurrency market in June 2022.

Interpol also issued a Red Notice for Kwon in relation to the charges in South Korea, while he also faces a raft of fraud charges in the United States.

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Google invests $300M in AI firm previously funded by Sam Bankman-Fried

February 5, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Google invests 0M in AI firm previously funded by Sam Bankman-Fried

Alameda Research

Members of Crypto Twitter are speculating whether Bankman-Fried and FTX will source the reported $530 million invested in Anthropic to pay off FTX creditors.

Google Cloud has reportedly invested $300 million into artificial intelligence (AI) startup firm Anthropic, which also happened to receive over $500 million in funds from former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried about six months before FTX catastrophically collapsed.

While the $300 million figure was reported by Financial Times on Feb. 4, Anthropic confirmed the investment partnership with Google Cloud on the same day despite not disclosing any figures:

We're excited to use Google Cloud to train our AI systems, including Claude! https://t.co/IaqQ5lpJrP https://t.co/vOn5Cj4sPt
— Anthropic (@AnthropicAI) February 3, 2023

In the same announcement, Anthropic also confirmed that they previously raised capital from Bankman-Fried and former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison, among others, in its Series B fundraising round:

The Series B round was led by Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of FTX. The round also included participation from Caroline Ellison, Jim McClave, Nishad Singh, Jaan Tallinn, and the Center for Emerging Risk Research (CERR)."

The fundraising efforts led by Bankman-Fried took place in April, 2022, according to Crunchbase.

A recent post by The New York Times reported that of the $580 million raised, about $530 million came from Bankman-Fried and his former business partners.

But some believe the figure to be even higher too.

One FTX creditor believes Bankman-Fried’s stake in the AI company could be as high as $1.1 billion. However, the creditor didn't elaborate on the figure.

Other members of the Crypto Twitter community are also speculating whether Bankman-Fried’s stake will be used to pay off the massive pile of debt that FTX has accumulated from their recent controversies.

As for the partnership, Anthropic will now utilize Google Cloud’s GPU and TPU clusters to train, expand, and implement its AI chatbox, called “Claude” — similar to that of OpenAI's ChatGTP.

Google Cloud received about a 10% stake in Anthropic, according to Financial Times.

While it remains to be seen where the bulk of the debt in the FTX bankruptcy case will be sourced from, Bankman-Fried personally pleaded not guiltty to all eight fraud and conspiracy-based charges laid against him on Jan. 3.

Bankman-Fried currently remains under house arrest at his parent’s California home until his trial date, which is set for Oct. 2, 2023.

Daring drive-by at SBF’s: 3 men drove into barricade and fled: Lawyers

January 20, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Bloomberg

The lawyer’s didn’t specify the date or time at which the incident took place, and claimed the security personnel were unable to get the license plate details.

Three men reportedly drove their car into the metal barricade outside Sam Bankman-Fried’s parent’s home where he is currently under house arrest, SBF’s lawyers claim.

In a filing to the federal court, the lawyers for the former FTX CEO said the three men got out of the car after hitting the barricade and told a security guard guarding the home: “You won’t be able to stop us.”

The unidentified trio were then able to drive away before security guards could record the car’s license plate.

According to a Reuters report, the incident was described in a Jan. 19 court filing which they said underscored the security risks faced by the FTX founder and those linked to him, including the two individuals who secured Bankman-Fried’s $250 million bond, stating:

“Given the notoriety of this case and the extraordinary media attention it is receiving, it is reasonable to assume that the non-parent sureties will also face significant privacy and safety concerns if their identities are disclosed.”

The lawyers however didn’t specify the date or time at which the incident took place.

On Jan. 12, lawyers representing some of the largest U.S. media outlets — including Bloomberg, CNBC, Reuters and the Financial Times — wrote a letter to U.S. District Court judge Lewis Kaplan to request for the names of the guarantors.

The media’s lawyers argued the public’s right to know Bankman-Fried’s guarantors significantly outweighed their privacy and safety rights.

Given that Bankman-Fried shares close ties to some of the wealthiest and most politically-connected individuals on the planet, the lawyers argued that such non-disclosure could undermine public confidence in U.S. government institutions.

Bankman-Fried was extradited to the U.S. in December and pleaded not guilty to all eight fraud and conspiracy-based charges laid against him on January 3, 2023.

All charges relate to his alleged involvement in FTX’s catastrophic collapse in November.The controversial figure remains under house arrest at his parent’s California home until his trial date, which is set for October 2, 2023.

House arrest