The former CEO of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), has now been charged with four additional charges of fraud, including making unauthorised political contributions in the run-up to the 2022 midterm elections.
FTX customer funds that Bankman-Fried misappropriated, according to a recent filing from the Southern District of New York attorney's office, were used in the illegal political influence campaign, which involved flooding the political system with tens of millions of dollars in illegal contributions to both Democrats and Republicans.
He is now accused of orchestrating a scam to conceal from FTX investors the information that their money was being transferred to SBF's Alameda crypto hedge fund.
"As he used Alameda to siphon off FTX's customer funds and deploy them for political causes, SBF became one of the largest publicly reported political donors for the 2022 midterm elections," according to the new filings.
His attempts to sway politics, however, did not end there.
"To avoid certain contributions being publicly reported in his name, he conspired to and did have certain political contributions made in the names of two other FTX executives.
Those contributions were made directly to candidates in the names of those FTX executives, but with FTX and Alameda funds," the filing said.
Together with additional allegations of wire fraud and money laundering, Bankman-Fried is also accused of cheating the Federal Elections Committee (FEC).
Bankman-Fried is currently in California residing with his parents on a $250 million bail.
On December 12, he was taken into custody in the Bahamas, and on December 21, he was returned to the US.
Bankman-Fried has entered a not-guilty plea to allegations of fraud and money laundering.
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