The collapse of a cryptocurrency billionaire’s fortune and his company’s slide into bankruptcy is being used by some social media users to weave a tale of money laundering involving U.S. aid to Ukraine and campaign contributions to Democrats.
The posts don’t provide evidence of the scheme. They note that now-former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was a Democratic megadonor, and that FTX had ties to a fundraising site that helps people donate cryptocurrency for Ukraine’s battle with Russia. But the posts then conflate the fundraising site with the tens of billions of dollars the U.S. has sent to Ukraine.
“U.S. tax dollars went to Ukraine in the form of military and humanitarian aid,” began one Nov. 14 Instagram post. “Ukraine partnered with FTX and invested heavily. The founder/CEO of FTX was 2nd largest donor to Democrat Party, PACs and candidates … FTX was the intermediary for money laundering.”
Bankman-Fried founded the cryptocurrency exchange FTX in 2019, and it soon dominated the industry, valued at $32 billion as recently as January. FTX made headlines with a high-profile arena naming rights deal with the National Basketball Association’s Miami Heat, which the team just ended. It also had a 2022 Super Bowl ad featuring actor and comedian Larry David.
But things came crashing down when the Bahamas-based FTX announced in a Nov. 11 press release that it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy amid news reports of an $8 billion shortfall and a possible hacking. Bankman-Fried resigned as CEO, though he will stay with the company during its transition.
Bankman-Fried has been a large donor to Democrats and left-leaning causes, but he’s also donated to Republicans, records show. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian official and the CEOs of companies involved in a Ukrainian cryptocurrency donation site dismissed the allegations in the social media posts as…
