Texas Democrat Beto O’Rourke Returned $1,000,000 Donation From FTX Founder Before Collapse – Here’s Why
American politician Beto O’Rourke reportedly returned a $1 million donation from the now-infamous founder of the failed FTX exchange Sam Bankman-Fried on November 4, four days before the US elections and a week before the exchange collapsed.
The Texas Tribune reported on "the reimbursement of one of the largest checks to O’Rourke’s gubernatorial campaign," citing the politician's campaign team.
Per these sources, the former Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate's team received the donation on October 11 and returned it a week before FTX filed for bankruptcy and Bankman-Fried left his CEO position on November 11.
The decision, they claimed, was made even before that, but it took time to execute. Chris Evans, a spokesperson for O’Rourke’s campaign, was quoted as saying that,
"This contribution was unsolicited and the campaign’s upcoming [Texas Ethics Commission] report will show that it was returned back on November 4, prior to the news stories that would later come out about the donor."
Therefore, the reimbursement had no connection to the fall of the exchange or the scandals surrounding it and its founder, said Evans.
He further claimed, per the report, that,
"Unlike other large donations, O’Rourke had not talked with Bankman-Fried prior to the donation, and the large sum took the campaign by surprise [...]"
It was reported previously that Bankman-Fried was a donor to both political parties in the US. He is said to have donated $40 million to Democrats, while FTX executive Ryan Salame donated $23 million to Republicans.
The Texas Tribune wrote that the former CEO was actually O’Rourke’s top donor during the last fundraising cycle, between early July and late September. That said, the loss of this particular donation didn't
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