Bankman-Fried To Stay In Prison Until Trial After Appeals Court Rejects His Second Attempt To Bail

Sam Bankman-Fried, the co-founder of the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange platform FTX, has once again failed to convince the court to grant his bail request.

Three judges of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan denied Bankman-Fried of his bail request and found no error in an earlier decision made by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, a court filing dated Sept. 21 revealed.

"The record supports the district court's conclusion that there was probable cause to believe that [Bankman-Fried] attempted to tamper with two witnesses ... and specifically that he acted with unlawful intent to influence those witnesses," appellate judges wrote in the ruling.

Bankman-Fried's defense team argued that Judge Kaplan did not fully consider his First Amendment rights, which could have protected the crypto mogul's right to speak to the press.

The appellate judges, however, found that the district court acknowledged his rights and noted that Judge Kaplan determined that speech used to commit a criminal offense, which includes witness tampering, is not protected by the First Amendment rights of Bankman-Fried.

"The Defendant-Appellant argues that the district court failed to consider the extent to which he was engaged in activity that was protected by the First Amendment. But the district court expressly noted that it was 'exceptionally mindful of the defendant's First Amendment rights.' It correctly determined that when a person engages in speech to commit a criminal offense such as witness tampering, that speech falls outside the zone of constitutional protection," the court ruling read.

The crypto mogul's defense team also raised the issue of Judge Kaplan's failure to consider a less restrictive alternative prion, but it was rejected by the panel of judges and on the appeals court, underlining that the district court had considered all relevant factors, including the possibility of barring Bankman-Fried from communicating to the press.

"We have reviewed the Defendant-Appellant's additional arguments and find them unpersuasive. Upon due consideration, it is hereby ORDERED that the motion for release pending trial is DENIED. The motion for immediate release pending disposition of this appeal is DENIED as moot," the court ruling added.

The decision of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan means that Bankman-Fried will stay in prison until his trial starts on Oct. 3.

A New York federal judge approved the release of Bankman-Fried on Dec. 22, 2022, after he appeared in court on charges that he was behind the fraud and illicit movement of customer funds in his crypto empire.

The judge set the bail at $250 million, and his release was secured by equity in his parents' home in Palo Alto, California, alongside a list of requirements.

However, he was sent again to jail on Aug. 11, 2023, after the judge revoked his bail over alleged witness tampering.