Campaign Finance Violation Charges Dropped Against Samuel Bankman-Fried, a Major Political Donor
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Summary by JW Williams
Samuel Bankman-Fried (SBF) is an American cryptocurrency entrepreneur who was worth $26 billion at one time. SBF was the founder and CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX and associated trading firm Alameda Research, both of which collapsed, resulting in bankruptcy in 2022. SBF was a major donor to US political campaigns in 2022, second only to George Soros, and he donated tens of millions openly to Democratic candidates and covertly to Republicans. SBF allegedly used straw donors to evade contribution limits.
Last week, federal prosecutors dropped its campaign finance violation charges against SBF, even though he had made illegal political donations to help advance crypto legislation. Critics believe he is getting a sweetheart deal. SBF was extradited from the Bahamas, and the feds claimed to have dropped the charges due to US “treaty obligations” with the island nation. SBF is currently out on a $250 million bond and under house arrest, living with his parents in Northern California.
The inner circle, Sam Bankman-Fried, Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, and Nishad Singh, made over $100 million in political donations. The money was typically funneled from Alameda as “loans” before being donated personally:
• Singh donated $500,000 to the People for Progressive Governance PAC — run by Michael Sadowsky, who also ran SBF’s Protect Our Future PAC.
• SBF put $35 million into Guarding Against Pandemics, run by his brother Gabriel. GAP “frequently funded pet projects of the Bankman-Fried brothers that, needless to say, did nothing to prevent pandemics.”
Bankman-Fried is still set to face other charges at an October criminal trial. SBF has pleaded not guilty to stealing billions of dollars in FTX customer funds to plug losses at his Alameda Research hedge fund. Caroline Ellison, former Alameda Research hedge fund chief executive, pleaded guilty to fraud charges and is expected to testify against SBF, her former lover, at trial. She said that SBF and other FTX executives received billions of dollars in hidden loans from Alameda. Two former FTX executives, Gary Wang and Nishad Singh, have also pleaded guilty over FTX’s collapse and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. SBF has been accused of trying to intimidate the witnesses and discredit Ellison in the media by leaking what he claims were excerpts from her diary.
Sam Bankman-Fried and others took “hundreds of millions of dollars,” FTX alleged in a court filing. Caroline Ellison reported took a $22.5 million bonus, the FTX estate said.
John Jay Ray III, the CEO of FTX in bankruptcy, and his team have spent several months sifting through the smoldering wreckage of FTX for whatever paperwork and money trails they can find. Ray is suing the old FTX inner circle — Sam Bankman-Fried, Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, and Nishad Singh — to claw back $1 billion in misappropriated funds to return to creditors.
Sources:
ZeroHedge: https://www.zerohedge.com/political/feds-drop-campaign-finance-charge-against-sbf
Business Insider: https://www.businessinsider.com/caroline-ellison-took-22-million-bonus-from-alameda-sbf-ftx-2023-7?op=1