Crypto: Influence in US Elections

Democratic campaign committees are seeking reimbursement of more than $1 million in donations from FTX Bankman-Fried. Bankman-Fried has made over $40 million in campaign donations, second only to George Soros.

A refund of more than a million dollars

Three major campaign committees working to elect Democrats to Congress are set to return more than $1 million in donations. This amount corresponds to a portion of the donation from Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the exchange of FTX cryptocurrencies. Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas earlier this week and is accused of defrauding clients and investors. These scams would have been used to finance a lavish lifestyle. The latter has been a donor for individual candidates, official campaign committees and super PACs, including the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. These Committees announced that they would endeavor to return the donations.

In a statement Friday, DNC spokesperson Daniel Wessel said the group will set aside the $815,000 in contributions received since 2020. That total includes donations Bankman-Fried has made directly to the DNC as well as to the Democratic Grassroots Victory Fund and the Biden Victory Fund, which was a joint fundraising committee endorsed by Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, the DNC, and state Democratic parties. The DSCC has received $103,000 in donations associated with Bankman-Fried and, like the DNC, is preparing to return them once it receives proper guidance, according to spokesman David Bergstein. The DCCC sets aside the $250,000 it received from Bankman-Fried. The institution said it was awaiting further guidance from the government on what to do with the money.

The charges against Bankman-Fried

Jake Auchincloss, a member of the Democrats, has indicated that he does not want to return the money to a criminal in prison. He says he is waiting for advice from the Ministry of Justice on the best way to make the reimbursement. He adds that people scammed by FTX deserve their money back.
The FTX CEO was arrested in the Bahamas on Monday as federal prosecutors in New York filed charges against him. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission also filed charges against Bankman-Fried on Tuesday.

In total, Bankman-Fried faces charges of conspiracy to wire fraud on clients; on lenders; on raw materials and real estate values. Added to this is money laundering, a violation of campaign finance laws. Bankman-Fried was denied bail at a hearing on Tuesday. He was scheduled to testify remotely before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday. However, his arrest prevented his appearance.

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