Since 2020, SBF has donated substantial sums of money to Democrats, and he has claimed to have made undisclosed donations to Republican candidates

After the defamed co-founder of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), donated $5.2mln to Joe Biden’s campaign in 2020 and over $40mln to Democrats ahead of the U.S. midterm election cycle, three major Democratic organizations intend to give back 2.2 per cent of the funds, or $1mln, to the now-defunct crypto exchange. Out of a total of $1mln, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) is earmarking $815,000 to return to the bankrupt firm.

Before his arrest, SBF was known to have made considerable contributions to the Democratic Party. According to estimates, one in three members of Congress received a direct contribution from Sam Bankman-Fried and his inner circle. Since 2020, SBF has donated significant amounts of money to Democrats, and he has claimed to have made undisclosed donations to Republican candidates. SBF made the second-biggest monetary donation to Joe Biden’s campaign in 2020, giving him $5.2mln.

In a press briefing on December 13, 2022, a reporter asked White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre if the administration would return the funds. Jean-Pierre declined to comment, citing the Hatch Act. Anything that is linked to political contributions, from here I would have to refer you to the DNC, she said. Sam Bankman-Fried was the second-biggest donor to the Democrats under George Soros, providing substantial funds to Joe Biden’s campaign apart from other contributions ahead of the U.S. midterm elections.

As per Federal Election Commission (FEC) records and data from opensecrets.org, SBF gave Democrats at least $40mln in donations. The bankrupt firm is now asking for the $45.2mln given to Democratic candidates, political action committees, and Biden to be given back to the firm so it can pay back creditors. Three major Democratic organizations plan to return $1mln of the funds, which represents nearly 2.2 per cent of SBF’s overall $45.2mln donations.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee will give back $353,000, as per various news publications. The DNC also intends to give back $815,000 to the bankrupt FTX firm.

Amid the allegations of potential campaign finance violations by Bankman-Fried, we are earmarking funds in order to give back the $815,000 in contributions since 2020, according to a DNC spokesperson. We will give back the funds as soon as we receive proper direction in the legal proceedings.

Returning $1mln or 2.2 per cent of the funds back to the bankrupt firm still leaves $44.2mln that Sam Bankman-Fried gave to the party’s PACs and candidates. It is noteworthy that the Democratic parties have not offered to return the total remaining balance, and some U.S. bureaucrats have taken it upon themselves to donate the money to charity.