Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX Founder, Facing New Criminal Charges and Allegations of Political Donations
Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced founder of the now-defunct crypto exchange FTX, is facing four new criminal charges in addition to the eight already pending against him in a Manhattan federal court.[0] The additional charges include allegations of illegal political donations and bank fraud.
The indictment reveals that Bankman-Fried is accused of misusing billions of dollars in customers’ funds and making hundreds of illegal political donations totaling tens of millions of dollars.[1] He also allegedly tried to purchase influence over cryptocurrency regulation in Washington, D.C. by steering illegal campaign contributions to both Democrats and Republicans.[1]
In an effort to reclaim the political donations, three major Democratic organizations are returning 2.2% of the funds, or $1 million, to the now-defunct crypto exchange.[2] The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is allocating $815,000 out of the $1 million to be returned to the bankrupt estate.[3]
Bankman-Fried was reported to have donated $5.2 million to Joe Biden’s presidential campaign in 2020 and well over $40 million to other Democrats ahead of the 2022 midterm election.[2] Furthermore, Ryan Salame, former co-chief executive officer of FTX Digital Markets, and Nishad Singh, FTX’s former director of engineering, were among the largest political donors in the FTX universe, giving $70.5 million in the 2022 midterm elections.[4]
The FTX founder also allegedly violated federal campaign finance laws by making secret donations to a congressional super PAC using the names of two executives.[5] In one instance, shortly before the midterm elections, an FTX employee was allegedly directed to wire $107,000 from Bankman-Fried's personal account to the New York State Democratic Committee under the name of another person.[0]
The indictment encompasses bank fraud, violations of money-transmitting regulations, and requests for the forfeiture of assets.[6] Assets held in Binance accounts, over 55 million shares in Robinhood Markets (a commission-free investment and trading app), and more than $170 million in cash previously held at Silvergate Bank and other banks are all included.[6]
FTX has requested that recipients of political donations return the money, though it is unclear as to how much of the money has been returned to date.[7]
0. “FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried indicted on new criminal charges” CNN, 23 Feb. 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/23/investing/sam-bankman-fried-ftx-new-charges/index.html
1. “Bankman-Fried Hit With Four New Criminal Charges Alleging Illegal Political Donations And Bank Fraud” Forbes, 23 Feb. 2023, https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanponciano/2023/02/23/bankman-fried-hit-with-four-new-criminal-charges-alleging-illegal-political-donations-and-bank-fraud/
2. “Democrats Give Back Less Than 3% of $45.2M Donation from FTX Co-Founder Sam Bankman-Fried” Cryptonews, 20 Feb. 2023, https://cryptonews.com/news/democrats-give-back-less-than-3-of-452m-donation-from-ftx-co-founder-sam-bankman-fried.htm
3. “Democrats to Return 2.2% of $45.2 Million Donation Made by FTX's Co-Founder Sam Bankman-Fried – Bitcoin News” Bitcoin News, 19 Feb. 2023, https://news.bitcoin.com/democrats-to-return-2-2-of-45-2-million-donation-made-by-ftxs-co-founder-sam-bankman-fried/
4. “FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried was just hit with 4 more criminal charges including bank fraud” Fortune, 23 Feb. 2023, https://fortune.com/2023/02/23/ftx-sam-bankman-fried-four-more-criminal-charges-bank-fraud
5. “FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried faces four new criminal charges” Engadget, 23 Feb. 2023, https://www.engadget.com/ftx-co-founder-sam-bankman-fried-faces-four-new-criminal-charges-153406519.html
6. “Bankman-Fried charged with 4 new counts” Crain's Chicago Business, 23 Feb. 2023, https://www.chicagobusiness.com/finance-banking/bankman-fried-charged-4-new-counts
7. “More Charges For Sam Bankman-Fried, Outlines FTX Founder's Contributions To Politicians To Curry” Crowdfund Insider, 23 Feb. 2023, https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2023/02/202893-more-charges-for-sam-bankman-fried-outlines-ftx-founders-contributions-to-politicians-to-curry-influence-in-dc-giving-to-a-lot-of-woke-st
