Sam Bankman-Fried charged over illegal donations to politicians

Disgraced Sam Bankman-Fried made hundreds of illegal political donations in the US before the collapse of his cryptocurrency exchange FTX, new court documents claim.

A new indictment in a Manhattan federal court accused the former crypto wunderkind and his associates of making over 300 donations totalling tens of millions of dollars using corporate funds or through so-called ‘straw donors’ – those who illegally use another person’s money to make a political contribution in their own name.

Prosecutors said the donations often allowed 30-year-old Bankman-Fried to flout legal limits on individual contributions to political candidates.

A new indictment in a Manhattan federal court accused Bankman-Fried and his associates of making over 300 donations totalling tens of millions of dollars

The indictment also charged the entrepreneur – arrested last year – with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.

It comes on top of previous charges which include eight counts of fraud, money laundering and others connected to Bankman-Fried’s now-collapsed FTX exchange.

He faces a total of 12 criminal charges to which he has pleaded not guilty.