After disgraced FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) donated $5.2 million to Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign and more than $40 million to Democrats heading into the US midterm election cycle, three major Democratic organizations plan to return 2 .2% of the funds, or $1 million, of the now-defunct crypto exchange. Of the total $1 million, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) is setting aside $815,000 to go back to the bankruptcy estate.
Democrats return only 2.2% of funds donated by Disgraced FTX co-founder to now-defunct crypto exchange
Before his arrest, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) was known to have made significant contributions to the Democratic Party. In fact, estimates indicate that one in three members of Congress received a direct contribution from SBF and his inner circle. Since 2020, SBF has donated significant sums of money to Democrats, and he has claimed to have made undisclosed donations to Republican candidates. SBF made the second largest monetary donation to Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign, giving the current president $5.2 million.
In a press briefing on December 13, 2022, a reporter asked White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre if the administration would return the funds. Jean-Pierre declined to comment, citing the Hatch Act. “Anything related to political contributions, from here I have to refer you to the DNC,” Jean-Pierre said. The SBF was the second largest donor to the Democrats under George Soros, providing significant funds to Joe Biden’s campaign in addition to other contributions leading up to the US midterm elections.
According to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records and data from opensecrets.org, SBF gave Democrats at least $40 million in donations. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has suggested that SBF may have given significantly more to Democrats over the years, possibly even up to $1 billion. The bankruptcy estate is now asking that the $45.2 million given to Democratic candidates, political action committees and Biden be returned to the company so it can repay creditors. Three major Democratic organizations plan to return $1 million of the funds, which represents about 2.2% of SBF’s total contribution of $45.2 million.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee will return $353,000, according to various news publications. The DNC also plans to return $815,000 to the bankrupt FTX estate. “Given the allegations of potential campaign finance violations by Bankman-Fried, we are setting aside funds to return $815,000 in contributions since 2020,” a DNC spokesperson said. “We will return the funds as soon as we receive proper guidance in the litigation.”
Returning $1 million or 2.2% of the funds back to the bankruptcy estate still leaves $44.2 million that SBF gave to the party’s PACs and candidates. Notably, the Democratic parties have not offered to return the entire remaining balance, and some US bureaucrats have took it upon himself to donate the money to charity. One concern is that the funds may have been acquired through fraudulent means, which could be seen as rewarding and legitimizing such behaviour.
Moreover, returning only 2.2% of the funds back to the bankruptcy estate can be seen as a political calculation rather than a moral one. It is unclear whether the FTX debtors will be satisfied with receiving only 2.2% of the funds or whether they will seek to reclaim a larger portion of the political donations from Bankman-Fried.
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alleged violations, bankruptcy estate, bankruptcy, campaign contributions, campaign finance, congressional campaign committee, creditors, Democratic National Committee, democratic party, democrats, donations, Elon Musk, FEC, fraudulent funds, ftx, George Soros, government ethics, Joe Biden, legal proceedings, moral decision making , news media , PACs , political action committees , political calculations , political donations , Sam Bankman-Fried , Senatorial Campaign Committee , US midterm elections , US politics , White House
What do you think the Democratic Party and its candidates will do with the remaining $44.2 million in donations from Sam Bankman-Fried? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Jamie Redman
Jamie Redman is the news editor at Bitcoin.com News and a financial technology journalist living in Florida. Redman has been an active member of the cryptocurrency community since 2011. He has a passion for Bitcoin, open source and decentralized applications. Since September 2015, Redman has written more than 6,000 articles for Bitcoin.com News about the disruptive protocols emerging today.
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