Ftx and to those 73 million parties. Crypto scandal hits US politics

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It’s a story of lobbying and business, clumsy attempts to influence and unfulfilled promises that connects one of the world’s most important cryptocurrency exchange platforms (Ftx) and US politics. A story between parties, because trade cannot have flags at certain positions, and it is always two-sided. A story that brought to light $73 million (probably stolen from the exchange’s customers) donated to Democrats and Republicans. 73 million subject to a refund claim.

The scandal touches American politics

A brief but intense flirtation between Washington and Ftx, in light Corruption on stageThere’s a bit like some US politicians getting donations, while thousands of users stand to lose their life savings in what appears to be a historic scam.

A few months ago, Sam Bankman-Roast, the thirty-year-old founder of FTx, now serving a 115-year prison sentence, has been roaming buildings in Washington, determined to get his hand in the 2024 US presidential election. He was willing to donate up to a billion dollars. It is said. And he doesn’t mind being considered the new George Soros. Along with her close aides Ryan Salem and Nishad Singh, Bankman-Fried has donated $6 million to House Democrats’ Super Action Committee in recent months. And then $3.5 million Senate Chief Finance Another 3 million for a fund that supports Republicans and Democrats in the Senate.

Funding of US election campaigns

The plan was clear, already seen in the US: knocking on the doors of politicians and parties who have millions of dollars for election campaigns, trying to get more from their business, which in this case is cryptocurrencies. . Another poorly regulated sector is cryptocurrencies, where future political decisions can have a decisive impact. Today, in light of the Ftx scandal, it seems to have firmly carved out the landscape ahead of it.

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But the real issue is what will happen to the $73 million that FTX has already donated to US parties. While there are precedents for forcing political entities to repay contributions in the event of fraud, the prospects for recovery in the case of FTX are less clear-cut and depend on a complex mix of federal and state laws. An important factor in recovery procedures may be the judgment of the court handling the bankruptcy proceedings: if the court decides that the collapse of FTX involved fraud, almost all donations are subject to recovery. Otherwise, only donations made within 90 days of the company’s bankruptcy will be refunded.