Bankman-Fried met with White House aides on crypto policy before FTX collapse

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(Bloomberg) – Sam Bankman-Fried, the now disgraced cryptocurrency mogul, has held at least four meetings with senior White House officials this year as part of a campaign to influence crypto policy and making connections in Washington before his FTX empire finally collapsed.

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Bankman-Fried met Sept. 8 with Steve Ricchetti, one of President Joe Bidens’ top advisers, White House officials familiar with the matter said. The previously unseen meeting was the latest of a handful of sessions.

Bankman-Fried had at least three others previously disclosed in White House visitor logs. They include an April 22 and another May 12, each with Ricchetti, and a day later, May 13, with Bruce Reed, another top Biden aide, officials have confirmed. The final meeting is recorded in the logs as two consecutive meetings, but it was a single meeting, officials said. Some of the previous White House meetings included others from FTX.

His brother, Gabriel Bankman-Fried, is recorded at his own meeting in March, then participated in the May 13 session for a total of at least five this year involving one or both brothers.

Sam Bankman-Fried, once a fixture in Washington, now faces criminal charges for his role in the collapse of his crypto empire that left investors facing billions of dollars in potential losses.

A Bankman-Fried spokesperson declined to comment.

Earlier: Bankman-Fried case reassigned to US Judge Lewis Kaplan in New York

The brothers’ meetings at the White House focused on a general discussion of the crypto industry and exchanges, as well as pandemic prevention related to the foundation, Guarding Against Pandemics, led by Gabe Bankman-Fried, said a manager. The White House declined to comment further.

The story continues

FTX’s ties to Washington have come under scrutiny since the stock market crash. Sam Bankman-Fried has donated millions of dollars to Democrats, making him the party’s second-largest individual donor in the 2022 election cycle. One of his former top lieutenants, Ryan Salame, was also a massive donor but supported Republicans .

Read more: Crypto industry eclipses defense, Big Pharma in political donations

A person familiar with the meetings, speaking on condition of not being identified, said the policy was not discussed at White House meetings.

While Bankman-Fried, or SBF as he calls it, lived in the Bahamas, he traveled frequently to Washington to testify before Congress and meet with key regulators, including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, as well as with the White House. officials.

The former billionaire has often espoused the need for greater crypto regulation and portrayed himself and his companies as ethical players in the space.

But US prosecutors are now painting a starkly different picture, alleging a slew of misconduct, including conspiring with others to use company and fictitious donor money for political contributions and misappropriating billions of dollars in funds. customers loaned to FTX’s sister company, Alameda Research.

–With help from Neil Weinberg and David Voreacos.

(Updates with the Bankman-Fried spokesperson declining to comment, in the sixth paragraph.)

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