FTX to return political donations by end of February

FTX has reportedly sent messages to politicians and political groups to return donations from Sam-Bankman-Fried and other former executives. The deadline is the end of February.

Those who have received messages from FTX basically have no choice. FTX and its debtors add in the official statement:

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.

Related: SBF donations deep in the pocket

The decision to reclaim the donations is due to the new management’s attempt to pay off creditors. FTX’s attorney, Andy Dietderich, reported that the company has managed to recover $5 billion in cash and liquid cryptocurrencies as of January 11. The total amount they owe is almost $9 billion.

In 2020, Sam Bankman-Fried was one of the largest donors to Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, giving $5.2 million. During the November midterm elections, he admitted to making significant donations to both Democratic and Republican candidates.

U.S. prosecutors are currently investigating FTX’s donations to political parties and candidates. According to court documents filed in January, FTX’s creditors are investigating donations made between March 2020 and November 2022, totaling $93 million.

Unusual Whales even created a list containing SBF and former FTX executives, including Ryan Salame and Nishad Singh, along with the recipients of the donations. The data for the list was taken from the Federal Election Commission.

Among other attempts to satisfy creditors is the sale of solvent companies such as Ledger X, Embed, FTX.Europe and FTX.Japan.

Related: FTX asks to sell its solvent businesses

Nearly a month ago, FTX received plan approval from a bankruptcy judge.

Related: FTX Firesale