Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is set to remain in jail ahead of his October trial after a US appeals court upheld a judge’s decision to deny his release. 

The decision was issued by the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan on Thursday. 

In a written statement, a three-judge panel said it agreed with US District Judge Lewis Kaplan’s finding that the defendant had likely attempted to tamper with witnesses.

This comes just hours after the former crypto billionaire lost another ruling, blocking him from calling expert witnesses to the stand. 

This marks the latest setback as Bankman-Fried awaits trial. In August, District Judge Lewis Kaplan revoked his $250 million bail after finding probable cause to believe that the defendant likely tampered with witnesses. 

Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is set to remain in jail ahead of his October trial after a US appeals court upheld a judge's decision to deny his release

Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is set to remain in jail ahead of his October trial after a US appeals court upheld a judge's decision to deny his release

Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is set to remain in jail ahead of his October trial after a US appeals court upheld a judge’s decision to deny his release

Bankman-Fried is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn

Bankman-Fried is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn

Bankman-Fried is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn

The decision was issued by the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan on Thursday

The decision was issued by the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan on Thursday

The decision was issued by the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan on Thursday

He emphasized sharing the personal writings of the former chief executive of his Alameda Research hedge fund, Caroline Ellison, with a New York Times reporter. 

But Bankman-Fried’s lawyer, Mark Cohen, said his client was only exercising his First Amendment free-speech rights when he spoke to a New York Times reporter about the case, Bloomberg Reported. 

The appeals court argued that there was ‘probable cause’ on Thursday and that he’d ‘engaged in witness tampering’ by sharing the private writings of Caroline Ellison, his former girlfriend who served as the CEO of Alameda Research. 

Also on Thursday, the father of Bankman-Fried was allegedly linked to a so-called ‘dark money’ network that pours billions into politically liberal causes.

In a court filing this week, lawyers for FTX accused Bankman-Fried’s parents Allan Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried of siphoning millions from the company, which seeks to claw back the funds.

A footnote to the filing says that Bankman ‘sat on the advisory board of Arabella Advisors,’ a prominent for-profit consulting firm that runs a network of tightly related non-profits supporting liberal causes.

Arabella spokesman Steve Samson told DailyMail.com that claim is false, and that Bankman ‘has never had any role at Arabella Advisors.’

Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to charges that he siphoned company funds to make lavish real estate purchases, splash out political donations, and prop up his hedge fund

Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to charges that he siphoned company funds to make lavish real estate purchases, splash out political donations, and prop up his hedge fund

Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to charges that he siphoned company funds to make lavish real estate purchases, splash out political donations, and prop up his hedge fund

Arabella was founded by former Clinton administration appointee Eric Kessler (above), and its network of associated non-profits spent more than $1.2 billion in 2020, utilizing tax rules that often obscure the donors' identities

Arabella was founded by former Clinton administration appointee Eric Kessler (above), and its network of associated non-profits spent more than $1.2 billion in 2020, utilizing tax rules that often obscure the donors' identities

Arabella was founded by former Clinton administration appointee Eric Kessler (above), and its network of associated non-profits spent more than $1.2 billion in 2020, utilizing tax rules that often obscure the donors’ identities

However, he added that the New Venture Fund, one of the five non-profits closely linked to Arabella, ‘has publicly noted that it briefly worked with the FTX Foundation to provide administrative services for some of its grantmaking.’

‘NVF has also noted that Mr. Bankman served in an advisory role for the project at NVF that was affiliated with the FTX Foundation,’ he added.

The New Venture Fund did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but a spokesperson told Fox News, which first reported Bankman’s ties to the group, that it had worked with Bankman prior to the collapse of FTX last November.

‘In early 2022, NVF issued grants from a project advised by Mr. Bankman and affiliated with the FTX Foundation, all of which went to carefully vetted charitable organizations addressing environmental challenges and hunger,’ the fund’s spokesperson told Fox.

‘This is a pending legal matter, and the remaining money will be returned based on resolution of that process.’

Arabella was founded by former Clinton administration appointee Eric Kessler, and its network of associated non-profits spent more than $1.2 billion in 2020, utilizing tax rules that often obscure the donors’ identities.

Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to charges that he siphoned company funds to make lavish real estate purchases, splash out political donations, and fund risky trades at Alameda Research, his cryptocurrency hedge fund.

His trial on federal fraud charges is scheduled to begin October 3 in Manhattan.

Several other former FTX executives have pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges and are cooperating with investigators.

The lawsuit alleges that Bankman, a Stanford University law professor and expert in tax law, and Fried, a retired Stanford law professor, participated in the wrongdoing that led to the collapse of FTX and resulted in both criminal and civil investigations.

Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk

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