Bloomberg reported on December 29th that before his company folded, Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX, met with senior White House officials at least four times to influence Washington’s crypto policy.
The most recent one was in September when SBF met with Mr. Steve Ricchetti, one of President Joe Biden’s key aides. This information was disclosed by White House officials aware of the situation.
In earlier White House visitor log entries, FTX’s Former CEO had at least three other meetings. Officials have verified that they took place on April 22nd and May 12th, with Mr. Ricchetti and on May 13th, another senior Biden assistant, Mr. Bruce Reed.
According to Bloomberg’s report, officials said the final meeting was only one, despite the logs recording two consecutive sessions.
Bankman-Fried’s brother Gabriel is recorded in a March meeting of his own and then took part in the May 13th session for a total of at least five this year that involved one or both of the brothers.
FTX Ties To Washington Comes Under Scrutiny
An official stated that Mr. Gabriel’s sessions at the White House were on broad discussions of the cryptocurrency market and exchanges as well as pandemic prevention to the charity he runs, Guarding Against Pandemics.
Bloomberg’s report claimed that “FTX’s ties to Washington have come under scrutiny since the exchange’s collapse.” The Democratic Party’s second-largest individual donor in the 2022 election cycle was SBF, which contributed millions to the party.
However, under the condition of anonymity, a source with knowledge of the meetings claimed that politics was not brought up at the White House meetings.
Formerly a fixture in Washington, FTX’s former CEO is currently being prosecuted for his part in the collapse of his crypto enterprise. He often traveled to Washington, D.C., while residing in the Bahamas, giving testimony to Congress and meeting with the SEC, CFTC, and White House representatives.
He frequently pushed for more regulation of the cryptocurrency industry and praised himself and his businesses as moral players. However, US prosecutors now present a radically different image, charging a variety of misdeeds:
including allegedly conspiring with others to use corporate money and shadow donors for political contributions and misusing billions of dollars of customers’ funds lent to FTX’s sister company, Alameda Research
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