- The U.S. government is negotiating with PACs to recover $13.25M in donations from former FTX executives.
- Political groups tied to Democrats received funds from FTX’s Bankman-Fried and Singh, totaling $13.25M.
- Former FTX exec Nishad Singh testified he made donations under Bankman-Fried’s request, aiding the case.
The U.S. government is in talks to recover $13.25 million in political contributions given by ex-FTX leaders. Judge Lewis Kaplan, presiding over the criminal case involving Sam Bankman-Fried and his comrades, granted the government’s plea for an extension. This extension allows discussions to continue until January 15.
Government Aims to Recover Funds from PACs
The extension permits officials to negotiate with political action committees regarding the process to forfeit funds linked to Bankman-Fried and his co-conspirators. The filing identifies several PACs, including the Senate Majority PAC, Future Forward PAC, Future Forward USA Action, Emily’s List/Women Vote, and GMI PAC. These groups generally support Democratic candidates or liberal causes.
Details of FTX-Related Contributions
OpenSecrets data shows that Bankman-Fried and Nishad Singh, former head of engineering at FTX, directed around $13.25 million in donations to these groups. Singh admitted he made these contributions at Bankman-Fried’s request and sometimes signed blank checks that were later used for donations.
Singh’s cooperation and testimony against Bankman-Fried resulted in a sentence of time served and three years of supervised release, allowing him to avoid prison.
Breakdown of Specific Donations
Records reveal that the Future Forward PAC received $1 million from Singh and $5 million from Bankman-Fried. The GMI PAC received $2 million. The Senate Majority PAC, which benefited from Democratic control of the Senate since January 2021, obtained $2 million from Singh and $1 million from Bankman-Fried. Additionally, Women Vote received $2.25 million from Singh. These donations total up to $13.25 million. The actual amount may be higher if contributions were made to other donors.
Some PACs and politicians have returned funds connected to Bankman-Fried following the collapse of FTX. This ongoing negotiation signals a significant step in the government’s push to recover misused funds associated with the defunct cryptocurrency exchange.
