Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX is sending requests, seeking the return of political donations.
Key Details
- Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX Digital Markets Co-CEO Ryan Salame were major political donors during the last election. Now, the company is asking for the money back.
- Bankman-Fried was the Democrat Party’s second-largest donor with $37 million in donations, while Salame was the Republican Party’s 10th-largest donor with around $19 million in donations.
- FTX faced a very public bankruptcy filing and is now contacting “political figures, political action funds, and other recipients of contributions or other payments” to take back donations.
Why it’s news
FTX was one of the world’s largest crypto exchange platforms before it came crashing down in November, leading to a bankruptcy filing.
The fall of the platform happened very fast and left many people confused about what happened, and it turns out it was linked to risky bets gone wrong that the CEO called a poor judgment decision.
While FTX was doing well, the company’s CEO and co-CEO were big political donors donating millions to the Democratic and Republican parties, but now the company is asking for its donations back.
In December, FTX asked recipients to return the donations voluntarily, but now the company is asking for all donations back by February 28, according to a press release.
The company says if the donations are not returned, the debtors “reserve the right to commence actions before the Bankruptcy Court to require the return of such payments, with interest accruing from the date any action is commenced.”
