The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has issued a formal mandate upholding both the conviction and the sentence of former FTX CEO Sam "SBF" Bankman-Fried, significantly narrowing his remaining legal avenues for early release from federal prison.

The mandate, filed on Tuesday, formalizes the Second Circuit's June 12 ruling, which affirmed a lower court decision convicting Bankman-Fried on seven felony counts — including wire fraud, securities fraud, and commodities fraud conspiracy — stemming from the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX in November 2022. The former CEO was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison. The issuance of the mandate marks the procedural conclusion of the appellate process, making the conviction and sentence final unless a higher court intervenes.

A three-judge panel of the Second Circuit rejected Bankman-Fried's appellate arguments, including his claim that FTX had "sufficient liquidity to ensure that investors were made whole and would not experience any losses." The panel also upheld a New York court's $11 billion forfeiture order imposed as part of the criminal case.

"As the district court recognized, any contention that Bankman-Fried lacked an intent to defraud because he intended to eventually repay his customers was legally misleading and prejudicial because the wire fraud statute encompasses temporary misappropriation of money or property," said Circuit Judge Barrington D. Parker in the court opinion. "As the district court made clear, FTX customers were defrauded as soon as Bankman-Fried transferred their money to Alameda regardless of how strongly he believed he might later return the money."

The reference to Alameda pertains to Alameda Research, the quantitative trading firm affiliated with FTX, to which customer funds were redirected without customer knowledge or consent — a central element of the prosecution's case. FTX's collapse, which wiped out an estimated $8 billion in customer assets, became one of the most consequential failures in the cryptocurrency industry and a catalyst for heightened regulatory scrutiny of digital asset platforms in the United States.

With the appellate mandate now official, Bankman-Fried has very few remaining legal options to seek early release. Potential avenues include a pardon from US President Donald Trump or a petition for certiorari to the US Supreme Court. In January, Trump stated he had no plans to issue a pardon for the former FTX CEO. Additionally, last month the US Senate unanimously adopted a resolution opposing clemency for Bankman-Fried.

Separately from the criminal proceedings, the FTX bankruptcy estate continues to wind down its operations and distribute recovered funds to former customers and creditors.

The court's opinion and mandate are available through public court records.

Related coverage: Sam Bankman-Fried loses appeal to overturn 25-year prison sentence | Senate adopts resolution opposing clemency for SBF | Ex-FTX users report funds being released in $900M distribution round