Overview
- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit filed its formal mandate on Aug. 4, 2026, which put the court’s June 12 judgment into effect and affirmed Sam Bankman‑Fried’s seven felony convictions, his 25‑year prison term, and an approximately $11 billion forfeiture order.
- A unanimous three‑judge panel found no reversible error in the trial and ruled that wire fraud occurred when customer funds were moved to Alameda Research without authorization, rejecting arguments that later asset recoveries erased criminal liability.
- The mandate returns jurisdiction to the Southern District of New York and closes the ordinary appellate path, leaving Bankman‑Fried’s practical legal options limited to a rare Supreme Court review or a presidential pardon.
- A presidential pardon appears politically unlikely because President Trump has said he is not considering one and the U.S. Senate last month passed a nonbinding unanimous resolution opposing clemency for Bankman‑Fried.
- FTX’s separate Chapter 11 process continues to distribute recovered assets to creditors, including a fifth distribution on July 31 that was expected to deliver nearly $900 million to approved claimants, while the criminal forfeiture targets assets tied to the fraud.