FTX’s new management has started the official legal process of clawing back past political donations.
This, as court documents filed in January show that the FTX Debtors committee is reviewing political donations made across the aisle by the bankrupt exchange’s top executives between March 2020 and November 2022. The donations reportedly total up to $93 million.
“To the extent such payments are not returned voluntarily, the FTX Debtors reserve the right to commence actions before the bankruptcy court to require the return of such payments, with interest accruing from the date any action is commenced,” according to a Sunday (Fe. 5) press release announcing the action.
“These recipients are requested to return such funds to the FTX Debtors by February 28, 2023,” the release stated.
Read more: FTX Prosecutors Seize $698M In Bankman-Fried Assets
According to Open Secrets, a platform dedicated to following money in politics, former FTX CEO and founder Sam Bankman-Fried was the seventh-largest political contributor in 2022 with a total of $40,115,757 donated.
FTX Digital Markets co-CEO Ryan Salame, who reportedly tipped off Bahamian regulators about trouble at the exchange before its collapse, was the 15th largest donor for 2022’s political cycle, with $24,072,450 donated, per Open Secrets’ data.
The announcement follows a Dec. 19 public request for the return of donations, and the threatened specter of legal action underscores the aggressive approach the FTX Debtors are taking to recoup the company’s missing funds, plus interest, in order to repay its lengthy list of creditors.
The recipients of FTX’s political donations are instructed to contact a special email account, FTXrepay@ftx.us, for further information about returning the money before the end of the month.
