What’s at Stake for Sam Bankman-Fried’s Long-awaited Appeal?

With 19 years remaining for Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried in prison, the former FTX CEO’s legal team will present arguments in the appeals court why a panel of judges should consider overturning his conviction or sentence.

On Tuesday, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit will hear oral arguments from SBF’s lawyers. Although details of the appeal were unclear at the time of publication, the legal team of the former CEO of FTX he said in his initial appeal filing from September 2024 that he intended to argue that SBF was “never presumed innocent”, stating that he was not allowed to present information to the court regarding the solvency of the crypto exchange.

“From day one, the prevailing narrative — initially pushed by the lawyers who took over FTX, quickly adopted by their contacts in the U.S. Attorney’s Office — was that Bankman-Fried had stolen billions of dollars of client funds, driven FTX into insolvency, and caused billions in losses,” the September 2024 appeal said. “Now, nearly two years later, a very different picture is emerging — a which confirms that FTX was never insolvent, and in fact had billions in assets to repay its customers. But the jury in the Bankman-Fried trial never saw this picture.”

Following the collapse of FTX in November 2022, US authorities extradited SBF from the Bahamas to face charges including money laundering and fraud. A jury condemned the former CEO on seven counts in November 2023, and a judge sentenced him to 25 years in prison in March 2024.

Related: FTX abandons the movement of “restricted countries” but warns that it may return

The case involving the high-profile cryptocurrency executive drew attention from many in the industry, as well as lawmakers, as SBF had contributed millions of dollars to politicians through his companies. The appeals court will decide whether to grant Bankman-Fried a new trial or uphold her conviction in New York.

Still up for a presidential pardon?

After his conviction and sentencing hearing, SBF seemed to be campaigning to align more with Republicans and right-wing politicians, in an attempt to attract positive attention from US President Donald Trump.