Key Takeaways
- The $550,000 was paid to the Met in two separate installments — the first $300,000 in March 2022 and the rest in May.
- FTX’s new management is trying to get back all donations paid by the firm back to repay creditors
New York’s renowned Metropolitan Museum of Art to return $550,000 in donations it received from now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX before its implosion.
According to a June 2 statement, the $550,000 was paid to the Met in two separate installments — the first $300,000 was paid in March 2022 and the latter in May. The payment was made by FTX’s U.S. entity West Realm Shires Services.
The court documents reveal that West Realm Shires Services initially donated $300,000 to the Museum last year in March before the crypto exchange collapsed.
“The Met wishes to return the Donations to the FTX Debtors, and the FTX Debtors and the Met have engaged in good faith, arm’s length negotiations concerning the return,” reads the court filing
The latest development also comes amid FTX’s new management trying to get all donations paid by the firm back to repay creditors. FTX’s donations to political parties and candidates are under probe by U.S. prosecutors.
As per Unusual Whales data, out of approximately 180 U.S. politicians who received funds from FTX, only 19 have returned the donations or indicated their intention to do so. Court documents filed in January suggest that FTX debtors are reviewing donations between March 2020 and November 2022 totaling $93 million.
As per media reports, before SBF’s arrest in the Bahamas, his total donations stood at approximately $73 million, given directly to political candidates or through political action committees . Apart from lobbying politicians, FTX and Sam Bankman Fried were directly responsible for loans as well as grants to news organizations in and out of the crypto space.
As the legal proceedings of the FTX implosion continues, stakeholders and observers will closely monitor the actions of other beneficiaries of FTX’s donations to assess their commitment to rectifying the situation and maintaining transparency in their financial dealings.
