US prosecutors probing Bankman-Fried’s political donations: NY Times

People • December 17, 2022, 5:14PM EST

Quick Take

Federal prosecutors requested information about donations made to Democrats and Republicans by the former FTX CEO and some of his colleagues, according to the New York Times.
Some politicians have already returned donations or donated them to charity in the wake of the FTX scandal.

U.S. federal prosecutors are seeking more information about political donations made to Democrat and Republican lawmakers by former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and two executives he worked with, according to the New York Times, which cited unnamed sources.

Since Bankman-Fried was arrested on Monday, prosecutors have contacted “representatives for campaigns and committees that had received millions of dollars” from Bankman-Fried and colleagues at other companies he co-founded, the report said.

A prosecutor from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York sent an email to a law firm representing prominent Democratic political groups, requesting information about donations made by Bankman-Fried and colleagues, according to the New York Times. Campaign organizations, large super PACs and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries were among those emailed, the news outlet said.

Jeffries and other politicians have “either returned donations linked to FTX or gave the money to charity” in the wake of the cryptocurrency exchange's scandalous collapse, according to the report.

The Democratic National Committee, along with the party's Senate and House campaign committees, earlier this week said it plans to return more than $1 million in donations from Bankman-Fried.

Republican campaigns and committees are also being investigated for taking donations from an FTX executive “who was a top financier on the right,” said the New York Times, again citing an unnamed source.

Bankman-Fried has been arrested and is facing both criminal and civil fraud charges.

Disclaimer: Beginning in 2021, Michael McCaffrey, the former CEO and majority owner of The Block, took a series of loans from founder and former FTX and Alameda CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. McCaffrey resigned from the company in December 2022 after failing to disclose those transactions.

About Author

RT Watson is a senior reporter at The Block who covers a wide array of topics including U.S.-based companies, blockchain gaming and NFTs. Formerly covered entertainment at The Wall Street Journal, where he wrote about Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros. and the creator economy while focusing primarily on technological disruption across media. Previous to that he covered corporate, economic and political news in Brazil while at Bloomberg. RT has interviewed a diverse cast of characters including CEOs, media moguls, top influencers, politicians, blue-collar workers, drug traffickers and convicted criminals. Holds a master's degree in Digital Sociology.