Political organizations return millions of dollars as FTX pursues the recovery of assets from Bankman-Fried’s extensive influence effort.
According to a court filing on Dec. 10, FTX debtors obtained almost $14.5 million in November through minor claim settlements, mostly from political donations.
$3 million from the Senate Majority PAC and $6 million from the House Majority PAC were among the recovered monies. Organizations such as Mind the Gap, the Forward Action Fund, and People for the American Way also contributed over $1 million.
These initiatives came after the estate sought to restore money connected to gifts made under Sam Bankman-Fried’s direction during more than two years of bankruptcy proceedings.
The former CEO of the exchange, Bankman-Fried, made significant political contributions and lobbying investments to increase his influence in Washington. FTX executives reportedly contributed to about one-third of Congress, with Bankman-Fried personally contributing at least $40 million to political campaigns.
Although much of this funding went to Democrats, Bankman-Fried asserted that he had equally backed Republicans. However, there are no unambiguous records to corroborate this.
Many politicians tried to distance themselves from the issue following FTX’s demise by rerouting funds from the now-defunct exchange to nonprofit organizations. Notably, Cameron Winklevoss, a co-founder of Gemini, recently asked the next US government to charge the guilty FTX CEO with campaign funding.
In recent months, the bankruptcy estate has been trying to get back money given to venture projects, political organizations, and other recipients. To recover more funds held by different platforms, FTX has also increased the number of lawsuits it has filed.
In November, the company filed a $1.8 billion recovery lawsuit against Binance and Changpeng Zhao, its former CEO. Crypto.com, KuCoin, and well-known people, such as former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci, were the targets of similar cases.
These initiatives are part of more extensive preparations for creditor reimbursements, which are scheduled to start in early 2025 and demonstrate the insolvent firm’s dedication to recovering misallocated assets.
