- A judge approved a request for Sam Bankman-Fried to wear business attire in court.
- His lawyers said they would provide him with clothes including “appropriate undergarments.”
- Judges often allow jailed inmates to wear suits to avoid possible juror bias if they wore prison uniform.
The judge overseeing the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried approved a request on Wednesday for the FTX founder to wear business attire in court.
The former billionaire, who typically wore a t-shirt and shorts while in charge of the crypto exchange, no longer has access to his own clothes since US District Judge Lewis Kaplan revoked Bankman-Fried’s bail last month.
Now behind bars at the Metropolitan Detention Center, his lawyers submitted a proposed order on Tuesday which asked Kaplan to allow Bankman-Fried to wear “business attire clothing.”
The court document, which Insider has seen, orders the US Marshals Service and MDC to “accept and maintain” that Bankman-Fried’s lawyers can provide him with clothes to wear in court.
It said they would give Bankman-Fried: four dress shirts, three ties, one belt, four pairs of socks, two pairs of shoes, and “appropriate undergarments” — exactly what this means is not clear.
Kaplan approved the order on Wednesday. Judges often let jailed inmates wear business attire in court, because wearing a prison uniform could prejudice the jury.
Since Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas and extradited to the US, he has appeared in court wearing a suit and tie, as he was previously kept under house arrest at his parents’ home.
Although he has at times been pictured outside the Manhattan court with his shirt untucked, collar upturned, or tie loose.
Fatih Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images; YUKI IWAMURA/AFP via Getty Images
Bankman-Fried’s penchant for casual clothing was a marked feature of his rise to fame. Last April, the then-billionaire wore a t-shirt and shorts on stage at a crypto conference alongside the besuited former world leaders Tony Blair and President Bill Clinton. Ex-British Prime Minister Blair joked that he felt “a little overdressed” by comparison, according to Forbes.
The SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci previously told Insider that he bought Bankman-Fried a suit from Bloomingdale’s for a fundraising tour in the Middle East last October.
“I didn’t certainly like elements of the way he was dressed,” Scaramucci said. “When you’re in Rome, do as the Romans do.”
Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to seven charges including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He could face over 100 years in prison if convicted of all charges.
The trial begins next Tuesday.
A spokesperson for Bankman-Fried did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment, sent outside US working hours.
