U.S. says FTX founder Bankman-Fried needs limits on communications, asset access

FILE PHOTO: Former FTX Chief Executive Sam Bankman-Fried, who faces fraud charges over the collapse of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange, arrives on the day of a hearing at Manhattan federal court in New York City, U.S. January 3, 2023. REUTERS/David Dee Delgado/File Photo

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. government on Monday urged a judge to reject Sam Bankman-Fried's claim it went too far by insisting that the indicted founder of the now-bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange be banned from contacting his former colleagues.

In a letter to U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan, prosecutors also asked that a bail condition that prevents Bankman-Fried from accessing or transferring assets at FTX and his Alameda Research hedge fund be left in place.