Bankman-Fried's $250M bail controversy: 8 media companies demand disclosure of two guarantors

FTX former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s $250 million bond bail is getting mired in controversy. Eight media companies have demanded the disclosure of the names of the guarantors.

In a letter addressed to New York District Judge, the attorney for the media companies argued that “the public’s right to know Bankman-Fried’s guarantors outweighed their privacy and safety rights.”

According to media reports, the attorney for the media companies argued that such non-disclosure could possibly undermine "public confidence in our government institutions and political leaders."

Earlier, on January 3, the court approved Bankman-Fried’s request to redact the names and identifying information of his two non-parental bail sureties.

According to a January 12 media report, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers previously argued that Bankman-Fried’s sureties should be kept under wraps as Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried — the parents and co-signers of Bankman-Fried’s $250 million bond — have received ongoing physical threats since FTX’s catastrophic collapse in early November.