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Bankman-Fried used $100M in stolen FTX funds for political donations, US says

reuters.com

21–30 of 179 posts

Re: Bankman-Fried used $100M in stolen FTX funds for political donations, US says

#21
post #6

Funny how because these are "donation" and "lobbying" but not "bribe" there is no consequence for the receiving party and also no recuperation of the money.

I don't know how it works, but bankruptcy law seems a little different? Maybe the company's new management (in bankruptcy) will try to get it back? How far back can a bankruptcy court go with clawbacks?

Re: Bankman-Fried used $100M in stolen FTX funds for political donations, US says

#22
post #6

Funny how because these are "donation" and "lobbying" but not "bribe" there is no consequence for the receiving party and also no recuperation of the money.

Biggest success of the US oligarchy is to convince the general population that lobbying is not bribery.

Re: Bankman-Fried used $100M in stolen FTX funds for political donations, US says

#23
post #6

Funny how because these are "donation" and "lobbying" but not "bribe" there is no consequence for the receiving party and also no recuperation of the money.

Biggest success of the US oligarchy is to convince the general population that lobbying is not bribery.

Considering this is a common belief, it’s hard to agree they’ve convinced anyone.

Re: Bankman-Fried used $100M in stolen FTX funds for political donations, US says

#24
post #6

Funny how because these are "donation" and "lobbying" but not "bribe" there is no consequence for the receiving party and also no recuperation of the money.

It's quite common for politicians to return money that is stolen/foreign/otherwise when they find out. Sometimes because the law requires it, but also if they don't, the attack ad for their opponent writes itself. Although obviously it depends on how much time has passed and whether the money should already be considered "spent". Because even if the politician wants to repay it, new donors want their money going to r…

> Because even if the politician wants to repay it, new donors want their money going to re-election activities, not going to repay FTX. After a period of time, you might as well be asking the television stations to return the money they received for running the campaign ads, which... isn't gonna happen.

Politicians should be made to pay out of their own pockets or have an insurance for this type of situation.

Re: Bankman-Fried used $100M in stolen FTX funds for political donations, US says

#25
post #20

[flagged]

David Weiss is the prosecutor 31 Senate Republicans specifically requested not long ago.

https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Hun...

> Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) does not think much of the appointment of U.S. Attorney David Weiss as special counsel for the Justice Department’s investigation into Hunter Biden, the president’s son.

> Attorney General Merrick Garland “knows Weiss will protect Hunter,” Blackburn scoffed in a social media post on Saturday.

> But Weiss’ appointment is exactly what she and other congressional Republicans requested. Special counsel is the same designation Garland gave Jack Smith, currently prosecuting former President Donald Trump.

> Last September, a group of 31 Senate Republicans, including Blackburn, asked specifically for Weiss to be appointed to oversee the probe to “provide additional assurances to the American people that the Hunter Biden investigation is free from political influence.” Weiss had already led the investigation into his business dealings, which began under President Donald Trump.

https://news.yahoo.com/republicans-mad-got-hunter-biden-2222...

Y'all need to make up your minds.

Re: Bankman-Fried used $100M in stolen FTX funds for political donations, US says

#26
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The article says he donated to DNC and to GOP (through Salame) to eradicate anti-crypto sentiment among lawmakers. Not so sure about the desire to create a socialist pet.

He donated like 3 grand to the GOP.

> An amended indictment accused the 31-year-old former billionaire of directing two FTX executives to evade contribution limits by donating to Democrats and Republicans, and to conceal where the money came from.

> Bankman-Fried's indictment does not name the two people prosecutors say he used for "straw donors" to donate money at his direction. But other court papers and Federal Elections Commission data show they are Nishad Singh and Ryan Salame.

> Salame, the former co-CEO of FTX's Bahamian unit, gave more than $24 million to Republican candidates and causes in the 2022 election cycle, according to Federal Election Commision data.

This is all right there in the article. FTX had their fingers solidly in both pies.

Re: Bankman-Fried used $100M in stolen FTX funds for political donations, US says

#27
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suspect there will be pressure to return the money, particularly if it was through straw donors, lest anyone be associated with taking dirty, dirty money from a criminal. 100M isn't that much money for political campaigns in 2023.

Stupid question: Doesn't a (social or legal) norm to return money donated by crooks make politicians more willing to sweep their donors' misdeeds under the rug (and push judges to do the same), in order to avoid having to justify themselves?

Possibly, but the risk appears substantial for a relatively modest payoff.

If their guilt is glaringly apparent and your stance is interpreted as supportive, the blowback could be even more detrimental compared to promptly creating distance and professing unawareness of their wrongdoing, genuine or not.

The level of risk seems considerably high for an amount of money that, in the realm of campaign contributions, isn't substantial.

Re: Bankman-Fried used $100M in stolen FTX funds for political donations, US says

#28
post #20

[flagged]

David Weiss is the prosecutor 31 Senate Republicans specifically requested not long ago. https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Hun... > Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) does not think much of the appointment of U.S. Attorney David Weiss as special counsel for the Justice Department’s investigation into Hunter Biden, the president’s son. > Attorney General Merrick Garland “knows Weiss will protect Hu…

I didn’t say anything negative about David Weiss nor am I republican. Why do defensive?

Re: Bankman-Fried used $100M in stolen FTX funds for political donations, US says

#29
"An amended indictment accused the 31-year-old former billionaire of directing two FTX executives to evade contribution limits by donating to Democrats and Republicans, and to conceal where the money came from."

Here is the amended indictment.

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.59...

"9. As noted above, SAMUEL BANKMAN-FRIED, a/k/a "SBF," the defendant, also used misappropriated customer money to help fund over $100 million in political contributions in advance of the 2022 election. At BANKMAN-FRIED's direction, and to conceal the source of the funds used for the contributions, some of the political contributions were made in the names of FTX executives, including Nishad Singh. To conceal the fact that the Alameda account containing FTX customer deposits was a source of the donations, BANKMAN-FRIED directed that money from the Alameda account be wired to these executives' personal bank accounts, and that these executives then make donations in their own names. By directing donations through Singh and another FTX executive, BANKMAN-FRIED was able to evade restrictions on certain types of political contributions, and thereby maximize FTX's political influence. He leveraged this influence, in turn, to lobby Congress and regulatory agencies to support legislation and regulation he believed would make it easier for FTX to continue to accept customer deposits and grow, which would, in turn, allow the misappropriation scheme to continue. BANKMAN-FRIED also used these connections with politicians and government officials to falsely burnish the public image of FTX as a legitimate exchange."

Re: Bankman-Fried used $100M in stolen FTX funds for political donations, US says

#30
post #6

Funny how because these are "donation" and "lobbying" but not "bribe" there is no consequence for the receiving party and also no recuperation of the money.

It's quite common for politicians to return money that is stolen/foreign/otherwise when they find out. Sometimes because the law requires it, but also if they don't, the attack ad for their opponent writes itself. Although obviously it depends on how much time has passed and whether the money should already be considered "spent". Because even if the politician wants to repay it, new donors want their money going to r…

Even so, the punishment for most crimes is more severe than merely reversing the effects of the crime.
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