Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and his cofounders gave more than $300,000 to nine senators who are now looking into the company for malfeasance.
Bankman-Fried and his cofounders donated $300,351 to nine members of the House Financial Services Committee, with the majority of the funds going to members of the Digital Assets Working Group, which is tasked with regulating bitcoin.
The House Financial Services Committee indicated earlier this week that it would examine Bankman-Fried and FTX for potential violations.
Only Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-IL) said he would refund Bankman-$2,900 Fried’s donation.
Although Bankman-Fried has donated to Republicans, the vast majority of her contributions have gone to Democrats and Democratic political committees.
Protect Our Future PAC, run by Bankman-Fried, spent $199,851 to support Garcia. The disgraced CEO and brother Gabriel, contributed $40,300 to Rep. Ritchie Torres’ (D-NY) campaign as well as two of his political committees, La Bamba PAC and the Torres Victory Fund. Rep. Josh Gottheimer received $16,600 from Bankman-Fried and his regulatory division chief (D-NJ). Other workers of Bankman-Fried gave $500 to Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) and $9,100 to Rep. Sean Caster (D-IL).
The Digital Assets Working Group included Torres, Gottheimer, Himes, and Casten.
Bankman-Fried also contributed $11,600 to Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) and $5,000 to Rep. Cindy Axne’s super PAC (D-IA).
Bankman-Fried also contributed to Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and John Boozman (R-AR), who have introduced the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act, which Bankman-Fried supports.
According to the Washington Free Beacon:
“His intense lobbying campaign looked to pay off prior to the demise of his company. He backed legislation introduced by Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and John Boozman (R-Ark.) that would have subjected the cryptocurrency business to regulation by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission rather than the larger and more active Securities and Exchange Commission.”
“Bankman-Fried gave Stabenow’s campaign $5,800 in February and her joint fundraising committee $20,800 in January. In January, Bankman-Fried contributed $5,800 to Boozman, and in June, he gave $5,800 to committee member Sen. John Hoeven (R., N.D.). He contributed a total of $31,000 to campaigns and joint fundraising committees affiliated with Senate Agriculture Committee members Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tina Smith (D-MN), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).”
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