Cryptocurrency mogul Sam Bankman-Fried met with White House officials, including Biden Admin senior adviser Steve Ricchetti, on at least four occasions prior to the collapse of his company, FTX.
According to Bloomberg News, Bankman-Fried met with Ricchetti on Sep 8 and had two additional meetings with him on April 22 and May 12, as well as a meeting with White House Deputy Chief of Staff Bruce Reed on May 13.
These meetings were reportedly held to discuss the cryptocurrency industry and exchanges.
However, Bankman-Fried’s relationship with the White House has come under scrutiny due to his recent indictment by federal prosecutors on charges of defrauding investors and making illegal campaign contributions.
The indictment alleges that Bankman-Fried’s political spending violated campaign finance laws by funneling millions of dollars in donations to political candidates under the names of other donors.
“The indictment said Mr. Bankman-Fried’s political spending violated campaign finance laws by funneling tens of millions of dollars in contributions to political candidates under the names of other donors,” according to the original news article.
Ryan Salame, another top executive at FTX, has donated millions to Republicans.
