One of Sam Bankman-Fried’s colleagues at the now-bankrupt FTX donated $20,000 to Delaware Democrats last year — a contribution that is likely to gain scrutiny as investigations into the company and its leaders heat up.
Nishad Singh, the cryptocurrency exchange’s director of engineering, made the contribution on Oct. 17 to the Democratic State Committee, according to the state’s online Campaign Finance Reporting System viewed by Delaware Online/The News Journal.
Travis Williams, Democratic Party of Delaware’s deputy director, said they have been in consultation with their attorney on this matter and are closely monitoring the situation as it develops.
“We do not have any further comments at this time,” Williams said.
The October one-time donation is among nearly $80 million Singh, Bankman-Fried and co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets Ryan Salame gave to political campaigns and committees across the nation from September 2020 to November 2022, USA Today reported by citing records from the Federal Election Commission.
- Bankman-Fried’s largest donations were $27 million to his own super PAC, which supported Democratic candidates, and $6 million to a PAC that helps elect Democrats to the U.S. House. Bankman-Fried also gave the maximum $5,800 each to support dozens of candidates, mostly Democrats.
- President Joe Biden’s 2020 run for president was one of the major beneficiaries of Bankman-Fried’s donations. Bankman-Fried gave $5 million to a PAC that supported Biden’s 2020 campaign, $50,000 to Biden Victory Fund and $2,800 directly to Biden for President.
- Singh gave $2.3 million to a Democratic-leaning super PAC called Women Vote! and $2 million to a PAC that helps elect Democrats to the U.S. Senate. Other donations included $1 million to the same PAC that supported Biden’s campaign and $1 million to Bankman-Fried’s super PAC that supported Democratic candidates.
- Salame’s biggest donations were $15 million to his own super PAC that supported Republican candidates, $2.5 million to a PAC that helps elect Republicans to the U.S. Senate and $2 million to a PAC that helps elect Republicans to the U.S. House.
While it is not known if Singh’s donations were illegal, some of the contributions Bankman-Fried made are tainted, USA Today cited from a complaint from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The complaint is not clear which contributions might be bad.
USA Today report:Sam Bankman-Fried’s political donations totaled millions. FTX could sue to recover them.
The complaint broadly alleges FTX would get money from customers, lend virtually unlimited amounts of that money to Alameda Research, and Alameda Research would make loans to Bankman-Fried and his inner circle to support his lavish lifestyle, including political donations.
The SEC did not specify how much of the money obtained through fraud Bankman-Fried spent on political donations, or who received the money. And those allegations are separate from the Department of Justice’s more serious allegation that Bankman-Fried used straw donors to violate campaign contribution limits.
Bankman-Fried, Singh and Salame are key donors to track because an affidavit in bankruptcy court from John J. Ray, the insolvency expert who is now serving as the CEO of FTX, detailed how Alameda Research and its subsidiaries made $4.1 billion in loans to people with direct interest in the company.
Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas on Dec. 12 for lying to investors and committing fraud. Ten days later, the 30-year-old was released on a $250 million bond following his first appearance in federal court.
There’s been no word on legal actions against Singh and Salame; Caroline Ellison, a former Alameda chief; or Gary Wang, an FTX co-founder. Each has pleaded guilty to multiple charges on the same day Bankman-Fried was released from custody, though. Ellison and Wang pleaded guilty to federal charges and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors investigating the alleged fraud scheme, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said.
More:FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried released on massive $250 million bond
Contact Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299, eparra@delawareonline.com.
