America’s political elite was embarrassed by Sam Bankman-Fried’s donations – rts.ch

The 30-year-old, now detained in the Bahamas, has become one of the biggest declared contributors to the Democratic Party in recent years and claims to have funded the Republican camp in similar proportions, but secretly.

The case has been attributed to US President Joe Biden, who received more than $5 million in donations from the businessman for his winning 2020 campaign.

Asked about it on Tuesday, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said, citing a law barring her from commenting on elections or campaigns, “I’m limited in what I can say.”

Accused of fraud

The former head of the FTX, Samuel Bankman-Fried, was indicted by American courts on Tuesday. He claims that he embezzled his clients’ money to carry out risky speculative operations, as well as fraudulently influence political life.

>> Also Read: The former head of the FTX cryptocurrency platform was arrested in the Bahamas

Damian Williams is the attorney in charge of the FTX case in the United States. [David ‘Dee’ Delgado – REUTERS]He “contributed millions to candidates and political committees in the run-up to the 2022 election through an Alameda company,” which is not illegal in the United States. Damian Williams, the New York prosecutor in charge of the case, said in a statement released Tuesday that he did so in an attempt to “evade restrictions and transparency obligations.”

The judge told a press conference that Samuel Bankman-Fried pretended the donations came from wealthy associates.

“All this dirty money was used to gain influence within the Democratic and Republican parties and to influence political decisions in Washington,” the prosecutor claimed.

>> Also listen to La Matinale’s coverage of the FTX issue:

Donations “both ways”.

A search by Sam Bankman-Fried of the Federal Election Commission’s website listing donations returns 213 results since 2020, including $5 million paid to a Joe Biden advocacy committee in September 2020, followed by a $50,000 donation in October to the “Biden Victory Fund” “.

The vast majority of payments reported on this site went to Democratic entities or candidates. But the businessman, who has been giving interviews and sensational statements while his company floated, assured in November in an interview with cryptocurrency expert Tiffany Fong that he “paid the same amount to both parties.”

“All my contributions to Republicans were hidden,” he said, “because when you give to Republicans, journalists lose their minds. They’re all super-left.”

What to do with this money?

Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand from New York announced that she will donate the funds she received from the founder of FTX to charity. [Evelyn Hockstein – REUTERS]For some beneficiaries, it is time for a reckoning. The money paid by Samuel Bankman-Fried, even legally, seems very toxic.

Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democratic senator from New York, said in a statement to the New York Post that she donated the money she received to an association that works with underprivileged populations.

The paper reported similar decisions by five other lawmakers – four Democrats and one Republican. But for Democrat-elect Brad Sherman, who has criticized cryptocurrencies, the “right solution” is to return the donations made by Sam Bankman-Fried to FTX clients and investors, because “it was never Bankman’s money.”

Open Secrets, an association specializing in deciphering political funding, calculated that with about $39.2 million declared, the fallen cryptocurrency star ranked 6th among the most generous donors for the “midterm elections.” , mid-term elections were held in November.

It is second only to George Soros

If only Democratic Party donors are considered, he trails billionaire George Soros, who has donated more than $128 million to Joe Biden’s party through various channels.

Political finance in the United States is a complex business involving billions of dollars. The regulation is more or less restrictive depending on whether donations go to candidates or to PACs and Super PACs. These “political action committees” are actually a type of investment fund that plays an important, sometimes secret, role in campaigns.

Investors, managers, economic lobbies, as well as associations working for one or another social purpose, hope to influence Congress, the government, and the White House with their donations.

In the case of “SBF,” as it’s dubbed, the hottest political topic was undoubtedly the nascent regulation of the high-risk cryptocurrency market.

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