- The Metropolitan Museum of Arts is set to return all the funds it received from FTX after an agreement with debtors.
- Over 180 United States politicians received funding from FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried, with only 19 fully returning the funds or showing keen interest in doing so.
- In a related development, digital asset firms and influencers exercise “double caution” as their sieve through endorsement deals.
According to court documents, a total of $93 million was handed out by FTX in donations between March 2020 and November 2022, creating a dilemma for recipients.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has confirmed its intention to return donations received from FTX to its debtors. The New York-based museum stated in a filing to the United States Bankruptcy Court in Delaware that after discussions the agreement to return came in “good faith, arm’s length negotiations” with debtors.
“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 of the Donations,” the filing states.
The Met has received a total of $550,000 across two installments from FTX facilitated by West Realm Shires Services, the firm behind the daily operations of FTX. The first payment ($300,000) was received in March 2022 while the second ($250,000) came two months later in May.
Since its collapse in November, the management of FTX has been tasked with getting back funds that were donated by Sam Bankman-Fried while it was a going concern. In the United States alone, about 180 politicians have been linked to receiving funds from FTX while only 19 have either returned or shown keen interest to do so as debtors remain stranded.
Returns keep flowing in
Court documents show that FTX handed out $93 million in donations to several agencies and individuals. The biggest beneficiary remains the “Protect our Future PAC”, which received $27 million, according to reports from Market Watch.
Since the fall of the exchange, politicians and organizations have continued returning funds to debtors. The Alignment Research Center has said that it will return the $1.25 million received from the company stating that the funds “money morally belongs to FTX customers or creditors” and was a “particularly straightforward decision.”
The University of Toronto has set plans in motion to return $500,000 it received from FTX. Similarly, ProPublica would also return the $1.6 million it received. So far, new CEO John Ray has recovered about $6.2 billion in assets.
