A billionaire who massively funded Democrats has had everything come crashing down.
And his arrest came at a convenient time for top Democrats.
A Democratic mega-donor was arrested just hours before he faced Congress’s questions.
Democrat mega-donor and FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas on Monday after U.S. authorities filed criminal charges against him.
“Earlier this evening, Bahamian authorities arrested Samuel Bankman-Fried at the request of the U.S. Government, based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY,” United States Attorney Damian Williams said. “We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time.”
The arrest came before he was scheduled to testify in front of the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday.
“Tomorrow, Sam Bankman-Fried was scheduled to testify in front of the House Financial Services Committee. @HouseGOP was ready to grill him six ways to Sunday,” former New York Republican gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin tweeted. “Now breaking tonight, SBF was just arrested! Why not allow him to 1st testify tomorrow and answer our many questions?”
Bankman-Fried has been charged by the SEC with violating the anti-fraud provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
“We allege that Sam Bankman-Fried built a house of cards on a foundation of deception while telling investors that it was one of the safest buildings in crypto,” SEC Chair Gary Gensler remarked in a press release. “The alleged fraud committed by Mr. Bankman-Fried is a clarion call to crypto platforms that they need to come into compliance with our laws. Compliance protects both those who invest on and those who invest in crypto platforms with time-tested safeguards, such as properly protecting customer funds and separating conflicting lines of business.”
Sam Bankman-Fried donated nearly $39 million during the recent midterm elections, with 99.6% of funds benefiting Democratic candidates, according to data from Open Secrets.
Now U.S. authorities also allege that Sam Bankman-Fried violated multiple campaign finance laws, by sending donations to politicians “in the names of other persons.”
“The defendant, and others known and unknown, would and did knowingly and willfully make contributions to candidates for federal office, joint fundraising committees, and independent expenditure committees in the names of other persons,” the indictment notes.
In a YouTube interview with YouTuber Tiffany Fong, Bankman-Fried claimed that he also contributed “about the same amount” in dark money to Republicans. “The reason was not for regulatory reasons. It was because reporters freak the f*** out if you donate to Republicans,” he said.
FTX’s new CEO John Ray III testified before Congress on Tuesday in the place of Bankman-Fried.
“FTX Group’s collapse appears to stem from the absolute concentration of control in the hands of a very small group of grossly inexperienced and unsophisticated individuals who failed to implement virtually any of the systems or controls that are necessary for a company that is entrusted with other people’s money or assets,” Ray said in his opening statement.
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