A judge cited risk of witness tampering and evidence of violating regulations that prevent him from communicating with third parties, reports ‘Variety’.

The decision was made by Judge Arun Subramanian after a hearing in New York that weighed the conditions of ensuring safety in the community.

As per ‘Variety’, the council for the rapper had offered a $50 million bond backed by equity in his homes, the promise of security monitoring and assurance that he would not interfere with investigations surrounding his charges.

The ruling stated that “there is evidence of supporting a serious risk of witness tampering”, and that Combs contacted witnesses “even after” his grand jury testimony in June 2024.

The judge also stated that there “is evidence that Combs violated Bureau of Prisons regulations during his pretrial detention to obscure his communications with third parties”.

As per the ruling, Combs paid other inmates to make calls to those not on his approved contact list, and asked family members and defense council to facilitate three-way calls to make them more difficult to trace.

Because of the aforementioned infractions, the court determined that his “willingness to skirt BOP rules in a way that would make it more difficult for his communications to be monitored is strong evidence that the Court cannot be ‘reasonably assured’ as to the sufficiency of any conditions of release”.

At a hearing last week, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Slavik had said that Combs “cannot and will not follow rules” and “cannot be trusted”. She also claimed that his council was not able “to control their client”.

Combs is currently incarcerated at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. after being arrested on September 16 by Homeland Security on charges of racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Courtesy Media Group: IANS