🏛⚖ Federal prosecutors have asked a Manhattan judge to impose stricter bail conditions on former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, due to his attempts to contact a prospective witness in the ongoing investigation against him. Follow benzinga Prosecutors have asked U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan to block Bankman-Fried from using any encrypted communication devices or messaging applications, saying he may obstruct the ongoing investigation, reports Reuters. The request includes restricting him from communicating with current or former employees of FTX, or his Alameda Research hedge fund, other than family unless his attorney is present. According to the court filing, prosecutors have cited a Signal message on Jan. 15 from Bankman-Fried to "Witness-1," the general counsel of the FTX U.S. affiliate. Bankman-Fried expressed interest in having a "constructive relationship" or "at least vet things with each other." "The defendant's request to 'vet things with each other' is suggestive of an e...