Founder of FTX Exchange Faces Allegations in $100 Million Political Funding Scandal

Sam "SBF" Bankman-Fried, founder of the defunct FTX crypto exchange, is embroiled in a financial scandal involving over $100 million in misused company assets for political contributions.

Recent revelations from The Wall Street Journal unveiled emails implicating SBF’s family in directing funds from FTX customer accounts to influence the 2022 elections, sparking legal scrutiny.

The emails exposed SBF’s father, Joe Bankman, advising on financial strategies for these illicit political donations.

Allegedly, SBF’s mother, Barbara Fried, and brother, Gabriel Bankman-Fried, directed funds to various political groups, with Barbara supporting progressive causes and Gabriel contributing to pandemic prevention efforts.

David Mason, former chairman of the Federal Election Commission, cited “strong evidence” from the emails indicating Joe Bankman’s awareness of potential campaign finance violations. Despite these findings, a spokesperson for Joe Bankman denied any knowledge of wrongdoing.

In a related development, former FTX executive Ryan Salame was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison for charges including operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and campaign finance fraud. Salame’s case adds to the legal woes surrounding FTX, following guilty pleas from other former executives Caroline Ellison and Nishad Singh.