Former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta will remain free till his appeal against his conviction for insider trading is settled, which can take years.

Gupta was to start serving a two-year prison sentence on January 8, following his conviction in June of three charges of securities fraud and one of fraud. The US second circuit court of appeal on Tuesday said Gupta can stay free till his appeal was settled.

The former Goldman Sachs director left the court smiling. He was accompanied by his wife Anita and their four daughters.

Gupta has been on free on $10 million bail since October 2011, when the charges were first brought against him.

A jury found him guilty in June of passing on insider information about a Berkshire Hathaway investment in Goldman Sachs in September 2008 to Raj Rajaratnam.

Rajaratnam is serving an 11-year prison sentence and his plea to remain free while his appeal was heard was turned down by another court.

US courts usually allow white collar defendants to remain out of prison for the duration of this appeal unless there is a threat to security or the sentence is long. Gupta is likely to argue in his appeal that the trail court among other things improperly allowed recordings of telephone conversation between Rajaratnam and others.

Gupta was not a participant in them. His defence team has argued that he was never close to Rajaratnam and that the two had fallen out.

Gupta, they argue, lost $10 million he had invested with Rajaratnam.