Sam Bankman-Fried, co-founder of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange platform FTX, has been denied bail by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan. The court upheld an earlier decision by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who found probable cause to believe that Bankman-Fried attempted to tamper with witnesses.
Bankman-Fried’s defense team argued that his First Amendment rights were not fully considered, but the appellate judges ruled that speech used to commit a criminal offense, such as witness tampering, is not protected by the First Amendment. The decision means Bankman-Fried will remain imprisoned until his trial begins on October 3.
Bankman-Fried was initially granted bail on December 22, 2022, but it was revoked on August 11, 2023, due to alleged witness tampering.
