SBF Trial: Judge Grants Permission to Question Political Donations

Since FTX filed for bankruptcy protection and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried bagged fraudulent charges, there have been many talks about his illegal donations and gifts to several entities including political groups. This is because the donations are somewhat connected to the fraud charges levied against the businessman, especially the fact that he defrauded customers of billions of dollars.

Political Donations Via FTX Under Scanner

It is generally believed that these hand-outs were customer deposits which the 31-year-old entrepreneur used for his benefit. As his trial draws closer, United States District Judge Lewis Kaplan has given prosecutors the authorization to raise questions about Bankman-Fried’s political donations during the upcoming trial. 

Judge Kaplan acknowledged that evidence that SBF spent FTX customer funds on political contributions and donations is direct evidence of the wire fraud scheme. Furthermore, he added that “it is relevant to establishing the defendant’s motive and allegedly fraudulent intent.” 

The judge’s statement suggests that it is yet to be proven beyond reasonable doubt that Bankman-Fried truly donated customers’ funds to politicians. The allowance granted to prosecutors, including presenting evidence to the Jury can change the game for SBF and his defense team altogether.

Disguised Intent Behind the Sam Bankman-Fried’s Donations

Last year, it was discovered that right before the cryptocurrency exchange crashed in November, SBF contibuted $1 million to Republicans. The fund was specifically donated to support the political ambition of Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.

Some of his donations were also made to other political party members like the Democrats and the Conservative Party. By August 2022, Sam Bankman-Fried had given approximately $34 million to political candidates. At the time, he seemed to be using the donations as a lobbying strategy to push for better crypto policies, a motive that has also drawn criticisms at the time.

“I am spending a lot of time talking with members about what constructive things would be on crypto policies and about what can be done to provide federal oversight of it,” SBF said while speaking in an interview with the LA Times.

Generally, his donations earned him the title of the largest donor from the crypto industry and the third-largest contributor overall in the past election. While the true intent of the donation is yet to be established, many of the recipients have expressed the willingness to return the funds.