According to figures compiled by Open Secrets, Bankman-Fried was the second-largest Democratic donor of the 2022 campaign cycle, with almost $36 million in donations, largely to Democratic groups and candidates. This put him ahead of megadonors like Peter Thiel or James Simons but behind George Soros or Ken Griffin. Now, the Department of Justice is alleging that his donating spanned even further, using the names of other executives to support more political candidates than he himself did.
The indictment alleges that the donations added up to “tens of millions of dollars” and that they were “unlawful because they were made in the name of a straw donor or paid for with corporate funds.” The purpose of these donations was, among others things, to get around individual campaign contribution limits, the indictment alleges.
The prosecutors allege that Bankman-Fried’s straw donations came from the accounts of Alameda Research, the hedge fund affiliated with FTX, and “included funds that had been deposited by FTX customers.”