As per the recent development, it has come to light that the former CEO of FTX, and his parents channeled some funds to Stanford University. Currently, the institution has hinted at its plans to return the donations entirely.
Stanford University plans to return millions of dollars received from FTX: Bloomberg
— Frank Chaparro (@fintechfrank) September 20, 2023
A Stanford spokesperson said that the university is in discussion with the attorneys regarding the repayment of these funds. At the same time, the spokesperson confirmed that Stanford, indeed received gifts from the FTX foundation along with FTX-related companies while also mentioning that these funds were for pandemic-related research.
Ever since the crypto exchange’s sudden implosion in November 2022 followed by its bankruptcy filing protection, debtors represented by some advisors have been trying to recover their funds. Unfortunately for them, the cryptocurrency exchange handed out the deposits of its customers as donations and gifts to several entities along with political parties.
SBF’s Donations to Stanford Declared Fraudulent
The parents of SBF were recently sued amid allegations of them misusing their influence over the exchange to enrich themselves, both directly and indirectly. The recent filings make it clear that Stanford received a total sum of almost $5.5 million from November 2021 to May 2022.
Apart from handing out the funds of the customers to Stanford and other institutions, SBF’s parents also received a 30,000-square-foot home in the Bahamas which is currently valued at approximately $16.4 million. Similarly, they also received cash gifts of almost $10 million from their son.
As per the recent court filings, the donations to Stanford University did not benefit the FTX group in any way. Instead, these donations amounted merely to self-dealing by Bankman who looked forward to enriching his employer at the expense of the FTX Group.
However, this might not be the same case for other donations that SBF made, especially the ones made to political affiliations. Donations to these political bodies were deemed to be fraudulent transfers and would, therefore, have to be returned.
Just like the donations received by Stanford, the Metropolitan Museum of Art also received millions of dollars as donations from the now-bankrupt crypto exchange. By the end of Q2 2023, the museum made the decision to return $550,000 in donations as a result of good faith, arm’s length negotiations.
