One of the biggest storylines of 2022 and the cryptocurrency market continues to play out as FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried faces charges related to the use of funds while running the cryptocurrency platform.
A charge related to political donations against Bankman-Fried was dismissed on Wednesday, a development that has stirred up negative reactions on social media.
What Happened: The collapse and bankruptcy of FTX in November 2022 was one of the bigger storylines of the year and ultimately led to the arrest of Bankman-Fried in the Bahamas in December 2022.
Bankman-Fried faced a charge related to campaign donations. The charge was dropped Wednesday, according to a court document circulated online.
“The Government has beenprosecutor's informed that The Bahamas notified the United States earlier today that The Bahamas did not intend to extradite the defendant on the campaign contributions count. Accordingly, in keeping with its treaty obligations to The Bahamas, the Government does not intend to proceed to trial on the campaign contributions count,” the document read, noting the prosecutor's decision.
In December 2022, Bankman-Fried was extradited from the Bahamas to the United States to face charges.
Bankman-Fried has been widely linked to being one of the biggest donors to the campaign of Joe Biden in the 2020 election. Over the years, Bankman-Fried also donated to several political action committees and campaigns of U.S. representatives and senators.
“Campaign finance charges on Sam Bankman-Fried of FTX have been dropped. This is unusual. He gave millions to politicians,” Twitter user UnusualWhales tweeted Thursday.
Unusual Whales has tracked the political donations across PACs and individual campaigns and released a report that shows which members of Congress have received donations from SBF and, in some cases, returned the funds or donated them to charity.
Benzinga previously reported that Bankman-Fried made $46.5 million in political donations. Here’s a look at the list of the largest individual members of Congress who received donations from Bankman-Fried, according to UnusualWhales.
- Debbie Stabenow (D)
- Susan Collins (R)
- Alex Padilla (D)
- Margaret Wood Hassan (D)
- Hakeem Jeffries (D)
- Josh Gottheimer (D)
- Kirsten Gillibrand (D)
- Jake Auchincloss (D)
- Sean Patrick Maloney (D)
- Ruben Gallego (D)
- Joe Manchin (D)
- Angela Dawn Craig (D)
- Patty Murray (D)
- Lisa Murkowski (R)
- William Cassidy (R)
- Pete Aguilar (D)
- Salud Carbajal (D)
- Brendan Boyle (D)
- Tina Smith (D)
- John Boozman (R)
Along with Democrats making up the majority of the largest individual donations, the largest donations to PACs were also to committees that are Democratic-leaning.
Related Link: FTX Co-Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Says He Secretly Donated As Much Money To Republicans As Democrats
What’s Next: Bankman-Fried faced charges of fraud and campaign finance violations after being arrested in December 2022.
While the campaign finance charge has been dropped, Bankman-Fried still faces seven charges that will be part of an October trial.
Among the remaining charges are accusations that Bankman-Fried defrauded both customers and lenders of FTX. The charges relate to Bankman-Fried allegedly using billions of dollars from customer deposits for investments, real estate, campaign contributions and charitable donations, according to the New York Times.
A second trial, encompassing more than five charges that were initially withdrawn in June, could potentially still proceed to court, according to the Times.
Bankman-Fried’s legal team has now argued victoriously twice that the United States mishandled its charges and extradition process.
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Photo: wikimedia.org
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