The identities of two people who helped post bail for disgraced FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried have been made public after an appeal by news organizations, which argued their release was in the public interest.
The names of Larry Kramer and Andreas Paepcke were initially redacted when Bankman-Fried’s $250 million bond was set in December. But on Wednesday, a federal judge in the US ordered their names be revealed, according to reports.
Kramer is a former dean of Stanford law school and put up $500,000 to help secure Bankman-Fried’s release. Paepcke is a senior research scientist at Stanford and contributed $200,000.
Bankman-Fried’s bond was also secured by his parents, Joe Bankman and Barbara Fried, who work at Stanford law school. The couple used their house in Palo Alto, California as collateral.
Kramer said he and his wife were close friends of Bankman and Fried.
“During the past two years, while my family faced a harrowing battle with cancer, [Joe Bankman and Barbara Fried] have been the truest of friends – bringing food, providing moral support and frequently stepping in at moment’s notice to help. In turn, we have sought to support them as they face their own crisis,” he said in a statement provided to CoinDesk.
“My actions are in my personal capacity, and I have no business dealings or interest in this matter other than to help our loyal and steadfast friends. Nor do I have any comment or position regarding the substance of the legal matter itself, which is what the trial will be for.”
Paepcke has yet to make any public statement.
Sam Bankman-Fried last month pleaded not guilty to eight criminal charges relating to the collapse of FTX, the cryptocurrency exchange he co-founded.
Note that the portrait image heading this article is AI-generated, based on Sam Bankman-Fried’s likeness (Polemos/MidJourney)
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