Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas said Wednesday that politicians should give any donations received from former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried to charity.
“I think they should return it to charity,” Cuellar told CNN This Morning host Kaitlan Collins during an interview. (RELATED: FTX Collapse Is ‘A History-Changing Event,’ Tucker Carlson Says)
Bankman-Fried reportedly donated $36 million to Democrats in the 2022 midterm election cycle, and claimed he gave a similar amount to Republicans. Bahamian authorities arrested Bankman-Fried Tuesday, while the United States government indicted him on eight counts of fraud.
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Bankman-Fried ran the now defunct crypto-currency exchange FTX, until it declared bankruptcy Nov. 11 following a report by Coindesk that alleged customer funds were being misused. He allegedly loaned $10 billion to Alameda Capital, another company he ran and reportedly planned to donate $1 billion to Democratic causes.
Collins asked Cuellar if Bankman-Fried had donated to his campaigns. Bankman-Fried reportedly sent campaign contributions to Democratic Reps. Sean Patrick Mahoney and Ritchie Torres of New York, among other candidates.
“I think you’re incorrect on that. I think you’re not correct,” Cuellar told Collins. “As far as I know, they have not donated to me.”
The collapse of FTX cost investors as much as $2 billion, according to Reuters.
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