A federal judge has approved a request from the U.S. Justice Department to extend the deadline for determining the fate of political donations made by former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
The decision comes as officials continue to assess whether the funds should be forfeited.
On July 26, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams filed a petition in the Southern District of New York, seeking more time to evaluate the donations sent to several political action committees (PACs) by Bankman-Fried in 2022.
The PACs in question include the House Majority PAC, Senate Majority PAC, FF PAC, FF USA Action, EMILY’s List, and GMI PAC.
Judge Lewis Kaplan granted the extension, moving the deadline from July 26 to September 13. Bankman-Fried reportedly donated around $40 million to political candidates and PACs before FTX’s collapse.
One significant recipient not mentioned in the court filing was Protect Our Future, a Democratic-focused PAC that received $27 million from Bankman-Fried.
During his 2023 criminal trial, Bankman-Fried claimed his political contributions were financed by loans from Alameda Research, to influence U.S. government policies on cryptocurrency.
Further complicating the matter, a Wall Street Journal report in July suggested that Bankman-Fried’s family members had also used FTX assets for political donations.
Former FTX Digital Markets co-CEO Ryan Salame, implicated in campaign finance fraud, is set to begin a 7.5-year prison sentence in August.
Judge Kaplan sentenced Bankman-Fried to 25 years in prison for fraud and misuse of FTX user funds, following his conviction on seven felony counts. Bankman-Fried remains incarcerated at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn as he prepares his appeal, filed in April.
Other former FTX executives, including Nishad Singh and Gary Wang, who testified against Bankman-Fried, are scheduled to be sentenced later this year.
The sentencing date for former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison has not been determined.
