Former cryptocurrency mogul Sam Bankman-Fried and his associates donated $50 million during the 2022 election cycle to politically active groups that don’t publicly disclose their donors. These revelations were recently made public by prosecutors. Bankman-Fried, his cryptocurrency exchange FTX, and some of his former colleagues supported nonprofits aligned with Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and other senior Republican senators. They also donated to a group linked to Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and various obscure organizations that have quietly influenced politics.
These documents provide the first comprehensive view of Bankman-Fried and his allies’ contributions to “dark money” organizations. Nishad Singh, FTX’s former head of engineering, testified earlier this week and shed light on how Bankman-Fried used a private signal chat called “Donation Processing” to request certain contributions be made in Singh’s name. Bankman-Fried’s mother, Barbara Fried, also encouraged donations to be made in Singh’s name, even though they were actually from her son, according to evidence related to a lawsuit brought by FTX.
Bankman-Fried is currently on trial for federal fraud charges and for allegedly using over $100 million in FTX customer funds to finance his political contributions. He faces a potential life sentence in prison and has pleaded not guilty. In a previous interview, Bankman-Fried stated that he made these “dark” contributions because he didn’t want the public to know that he was supporting Republican-leaning organizations. However, publicly, he cultivated a profile that aligned with the Democratic Party.
Additionally, Bankman-Fried registered over $36 million in donations to Democratic campaigns and transparent outside groups during the 2022 cycle. He was a vocal supporter of charities promoting effective altruism, which advocates for using money and work to improve the world.
Bankman-Fried gained recognition in Washington, D.C. for advocating directly to lawmakers for cryptocurrencies. Prosecutors recently filed evidence showing the organizations that received money from Bankman-Fried and his associates. These documents also revealed how millions of dollars from FTX customers and affiliated accounts were used for political donations.
Among the listed former FTX executives and the company itself, Bankman-Fried was the primary “dark money” donor. Ryan Salame, CEO of FTX’s digital markets division, donated millions of dollars to Republican political action committees and affiliated “dark money” groups using funds from FTX’s affiliated hedge fund, Alameda Research. Salame pleaded guilty last month to federal campaign finance and money-transmitting crimes. Caroline Ellison, who ran Alameda and previously dated Bankman-Fried, also donated millions to right-leaning nonprofit groups and pleaded guilty to multiple federal charges.
Government watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington estimated that Bankman-Fried’s “dark money” donations would amount to around $37 million. However, the public list released by prosecutors this week showed that Bankman-Fried’s donations reached approximately $47 million during the 2022 cycle alone.
Bankman-Fried donated $10 million to One Nation, a group connected to McConnell, in August 2022. Salame also used $5.5 million from an Alameda subsidiary to donate to One Nation. Bankman-Fried donated $2.8 million to the American Action Network, a conservative nonprofit supporting House Republican policies. Salame allegedly made a $3.2 million donation to the American Prosperity Alliance, a group opposing the Inflation Reduction Act. Ellison donated $6 million to Defending America Together, which supported congressional midterm races in Alabama and Pennsylvania.
Bankman-Fried also donated $8.5 million to Majority Forward, a group aligned with Schumer. He listed total donations of $17.5 million to Guarding Against Pandemics, an organization led by his brother Gabe. FTX financially supported lesser-known “dark money” groups linked to Republican senators, such as the American Leadership Fund and The Bastion Institute.
These revelations raise questions about the influence of “dark money” in politics and the strategies used by wealthy individuals to support political causes while maintaining secrecy.
