A watchdog group has demanded an investigation into Sam Bankman-Fried's political donations, alleging that the former FTX CEO admitted to giving tens of millions to Republicans under the table, in violation of federal law.
The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) presented the complain with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on December 8, citing comments made by Bankman-Fried in a November 16 interview with cryptocurrency vlogger Tiffany Fong launched via Youtube on November 29.
CREW suggested in their complaint that wealthy donors often take advantage of the united citizen ruling to evade federal disclosure laws by using intermediaries and claiming they did not know where the funds ended up, but Bankman-Fried's admission negates this plausible deniability. As CREW Senior Vice President and Senior Advisor Donald Sherman points out:
Bankman-Fried said the quiet part out loud. He admitted that he violated federal laws designed to ensure Americans have transparency in funding choices and now he must be held accountable."
CREW has asked the FEC to investigate the violation and take any further action that is appropriate, such as referring the matter to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution.
The group accused Bankman-Fried of "direct and serious violations of the Federal Election Campaign Law," which requires the disclosure of political donations of more than $200 a year.
Related: FTX's Bankman-Fried to Face Market Manipulation Investigation, Do Kwon Intervenes
In the November 16 interview with Fong, Bankman-Fried claimed to have "donated about the same amount to both parties." Since he was the second largest donor to the Democrats, according to opensecretsthese โdarkโ donations seem to involve a substantial amount of money.
โAll my Republican donations were obscure,โ SBF noted, before adding:
โThe reason wasn't for regulatory reasons, it's because reporters go crazy if you donate to Republicans, they're all super liberal. And I didn't want to have that fight."
Bankman-Fried has been in some kind of apology tour since his fall from grace, making a variety of public appearances including interviews with The New York Times DealBook Summit, Good morning america and many Twitter spaces.
He has repeatedly stated that he is conducting these interviews. against the advice of his lawyerswho have advised him to keep a low profile and not say anything for fear of their comments. land it in hot water.
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