An appeals court rejected Sam Bankman-Fried’s bid to vacate.

FTX founder and convicted fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried remains in prison after his legal team failed to convince the US Court of Appeals that he should be freed while appealing his conviction.

In a Nov. 21 order, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said Banman-Fried's pretrial release was substantial reason for denying Banman-Fried's earlier attempts to tamper with two witnesses.

“We have examined the defendant's appellant's additional arguments and find them unpersuasive,” the court said.

State prosecutors have had Banman-Fried's bail revoked in a New York district court after he leaked Caroline Ellison's diary to the New York Times in July.

Banman-Fried argued that the New York court did not consider that it engaged in an activity deemed protected by free speech under the First Amendment.

The appeals court, however, ruled that the New York District Court was correct and said that witness tampering “falls outside the zone of constitutional protection.”

The 2nd Circuit – rather belatedly – rejected Sam Bankman-Fried's appeal of his pretrial detention.

It supports the district court's finding that defendant-appellant attempted to discredit two witnesses.

— Molly White (@molly0xFFF) November 21, 2023

Bankuman-Fried's legal team also argued that the district court failed to consider an alternative less restrictive than incarceration.

Related: FTX rises to 57% as Sam Bankman-Fried pleads guilty on all charges

That argument was overruled, the court said, noting that the district court had “extensively considered” all relevant cases, including Banman-Fried's, in the pretrial release.

Bankman-Fried pleaded guilty Nov. 2 to seven counts of fraud and money laundering.

The former FTX CEO will remain behind bars awaiting sentencing on March 28 next year.

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