After the arrest of the former CEO of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), three prominent Democratic groups have decided to return more than one million dollars to investors who lost their funds due to misappropriation.
On December 16, the Democratic National Committee (DNC), the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee (DSCC) and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) pledged to return SBF’s political donations after the businessman was charged with eight financial crimes.
A DNC spokesperson reportedly confirmed this decision when speaking to The Verge media outlet:
“Given the allegations surrounding potential campaign finance violations by Bankman-Fried, we are setting aside funds to return the $815,000 in contributions since 2020. We will return as soon as we receive proper direction in legal proceedings.”
The other two committees, DSCC and DCCC, have also committed to set aside $103,000 and $250,000, respectively, according to the Washington Post. SBF previously admitted to being a “significant donor” to both sides of the political spectrum.
1) I was a significant donor in both D and R primaries.
Supporting constructive candidates across the isolate to prevent pandemics and bring a bipartisan climate to DC.
And working with them to support permissionless finance.
—SBF (@SBF_FTX) November 5, 2022
Earlier this year, SBF had revealed in a podcast its plans to spend up to $1 billion to help influence the 2024 presidential election campaigns.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to answer questions regarding the return of previous SBF donations to the party.
When questioned, he responded by saying that “I’m covered here by the Hatch Act,” which prohibits employees in the public service, especially federal agencies, from engaging in some forms of political activity.
Bankman was the second largest “CEO contributor” to Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign, with his $5.2 million in donations.
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