Judge allows release of guarantors’ identities behind Sam Bankman-Fried’s bail

A federal judge has allowed identities of guarantors who signed on sureties for former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s $250 million bond to be made public following a request from several news outlets.

Court documents released on Feb. 15 showed that the two previously unidentified individuals were Andreas Paepcke, a senior research scientist at Stanford University and Larry Kramer, a former dean of Stanford Law School. The two signed on as sureties for Bankman-Fried’s bail on Jan. 25 for $200,000 and $500,000, respectively.

Eight major news outlets petitioned Judge Lewis Kaplan in a Jan. 12 letter, requesting the court disclose the names of the two individuals “that provided Mr. Bankman-Fried with financial backing”, citing public interest in the matter. The judge initially granted the petition, but stayed the release of the guarantors’ identities until Feb. 7 to allow for SBF’s legal team to appeal. Bankman-Fried’s lawyers announced their intent to appeal, which delayed the release of the information until Feb. 14.

SBF’s parents — Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried — were the other two parties who signed off on their son’s $250-million bond in December. Bankman-Fried’s bail conditions restricted him to confinement at his parent’s California home, but he has been permitted to leave for court appearances and other allowances.

This story is developing and will be updated.