Image source: ABC News
Sam Bankman-Fried shared that he had donated to both political parties.
The revelation from the founder and former CEO of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX comes as a surprise for people as he had primarily been a Democratic supporter.
The revelation
During a recent interview with Tiffany Fong, the FTX founder revealed that he donated to both parties, saying:
“I donated to both parties.”
“I donated about the same amount to both parties,” added Bankman-Fried.
Democratic donations
Since the cryptocurrency exchange’s launch in 2019, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) has mainly supported Democratic candidates.
In 2020, SBF was a significant donor to Joe Biden’s campaign leading up to his presidency.
He donated $5,220,000 from FTX US with an additional $6,242,800 from Alameda Research.
Read also: Sam Bankman-Fried suffers 94% financial loss
Republican donations
SBF cited the Citizens United Supreme Court case when reviewing his donations to the Republican Party.
“All my Republican donations were dark,” said Bankman-Fried.
“In practice, no one can fathom the idea that someone actually gave dark [money].”
Dark money
Political finance monitoring website Open Secrets refers to “dark money” as spending that influences political outcomes, where the source of the money is not disclosed.
Sam Bankman-Fried explained that he chose to donate dark money to avoid public attention.
He also said journalists “freak the **** out if you donate to Republicans.”
The former FTX CEP labeled reporters super-liberal and said he didn’t want to start a fight with his donations.
SBF explains that they conceded in the primary because there were good and bad candidates compared to the general election.
However, Bankman-Fried didn’t elaborate on what he considers a good or bad candidate.
Ukraine rumors
Sam Bankman-Fried also dismissed strange rumors that he was helping Ukraine launder money for the Democratic Party.
Nonprofit, nonpartisan polling organization FactCheck.org also called the claim false.
The group wrote an article dismissing the allegations, saying:
“There is no evidence to support the claim that Ukraine invested in or gave money to FTX.”
Additionally, Sam Bankman-Fried says he can’t imagine why Ukraine would launder funds for the Democratic Party or how anyone would launder funds.
“I wish I were a part of an international conspiracy that interesting,” said SBF.
Read also: FTX debt is enormous, 50 creditors owed millions
Other notes
Following the company’s collapse, several US officials called for an investigation into Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX.
The US Financial Services Committee requested SBF to testify in Washington on December 13.
Reference:
SBF hid Republican donations so media wouldn’t ‘freak the fuck out’
