(TJV) Federal prosecutors have decided to drop campaign finance charges against Sam Bankman-Fried, who is the founder of the cryptocurrency platform FTX and a significant donor to Democratic political campaigns, Forbes reported
In their letter to U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, the prosecutors explained that they will not proceed to trial on the campaign contributions count due to treaty obligations with the Bahamas. Bankman-Fried was extradited from the Bahamas to the U.S. in December, but the Bahamas only intended to extradite him to face fraud charges related to the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX and his investment fund, Alameda Research, which resulted in the loss of billions in customer deposits.
The letter clarified that the Bahamas had no intention of extraditing Bankman-Fried on the campaign contributions count, and out of compliance with their treaty obligations, the government has decided not to pursue trial on those charges.
Previously, Bankman-Fried made a substantial contribution of $46.5 million to the Democrats in 2022, making him the second-largest donor to the party that year, after George Soros. His donations were primarily directed to various political action committees, with more than half going to the Protect Our Future PAC, which advocated for pandemic preparedness.
In the aftermath of FTX’s collapse, Bankman-Fried disclosed in an interview that he had also contributed approximately the same amount to Republicans. However, he claimed to have done so through undisclosed “dark money” channels.
