GOPs demand answers on Ukraine funds circling back to Dems via FTX

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
18 Nov 2022 12:20
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Fears of the Ukrainian government investing portions of the nearly $66 billion of US economic assistance into FTX to keep Democrats in power arise among Republicans, who demanded an answer from Blinken.

The fall of the crypto-exchange empire might reveal a worldwide money laundering scandal. (medium.com)

Fox Business news outlet reported on Friday that it had exclusively acquired a letter written by several Republican House Representatives addressing the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken regarding their concerns that US aid that was sent to Ukraine has been redirected to the Democratic party through the now-bankrupt crypt-exchange platform, FTX.

The letter was written and submitted by Representatives Troy Nehls and Louie Gohmert of Texas, Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, and Rep. Mary Miller of Illinois, and it comes following the FTX bankruptcy scandal in which billions of dollars of client investments had disappeared.

Cryptocurrency exchange FTX filed for bankruptcy in the US earlier last week, shaking confidence in the crypto market as the world's second-largest crypto exchange platform collapsed.

The company's CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, made "massive donations to Democrats" and "was the second-largest contributor to Democrat-affiliated political action committees (PACS) and organizations, only behind liberal billionaire, George Soros," according to the letter.

Nehls told Fox News Digital that "this whole situation stinks to high heaven," and added that he "voted against Ukraine spending in the House, and for good reason."

"We have no idea where this money is going and how much is actually going to support Ukraine’s defense," Nehls added

"Now that we have the majority in the House, we will get to the bottom of this."

The Representatives stated in their letter that "it has come to their attention that billions of taxpayer dollars sent to Ukraine to assist with their war efforts were potentially invested in a crypto exchange that then made massive donations to Democrats" during the past midterm elections.

The letter added that the government of Ukraine officially partnered with the crypto-exchange platform earlier this year in March in order to "launch a crypto donations website, ‘Aid for Ukraine,’ within days of President Joe Biden pledging billions of American taxpayer dollars to assist the country with war efforts against the Russian invasion."

"While this partnership was touted as a way to assist Ukraine in cashing out crypto donations for ammunition and humanitarian aid," according to the lawmakers, they "have serious concerns that the Ukrainian government may have invested portions of the nearly $66 billion of U.S. economic assistance into FTX to keep Democrats in power – and keep the money coming in."

"The Federal Election Commission (FEC) data found Bankman-Fried funneled nearly $40 million during the midterm election cycle, with most of his contributions to Protect our Future PAC and House Majority PAC, both of which exclusively supported Democratic candidates," the letter continued.

"Additionally, Gabe Bankman Fried, brother of FTX’s founder, worked until last year for Democrat Congressman Sean Casten of Illinois, who sits on the House Financial Services Committee that oversees cryptocurrencies and Initial Coin Offering (ICO) markets," they added.

According to the lawmakers, what is "even more concerning is that on November 11th, three days after the 2022 midterms, FTX filed for bankruptcy" amid reports that "up to $2 billion of customer funds have disappeared through a backdoor housed in the finance software."

The Representatives hoped that the "primary driver behind the billions in Congressional assistance to Ukraine was not Democrats attempting to keep themselves in power and that none of the missing funds were used as a passthrough to avoid campaign finance laws or end up in Democrat pockets."

The lawmakers went on to question whether the Secretary of State has "any knowledge that anyone in the Biden Administration, Congress, or Democrat-affiliated PACs intended for the money the U.S. sent to Ukraine to assist with the war efforts to be invested in a crypto exchange, including FTX, or be funneled back to the United States to influence the 2022 midterm elections" requesting that he disclose this information if available and whether the Ukrainian military aid sent up until today will be audited.

A spokesperson for the state department told FOX Business that the "U.S. direct budget assistance to the Government of Ukraine cannot be used for a scheme such as the one being alleged, and the monitoring mechanisms we have in place have not detected a deviation from the funds’ expected use."

"The direct budget support that the United States is providing to the Government of Ukraine is transmitted via a World Bank mechanism to Ukraine’s Ministry of Finance," the spokesperson added, noting that "there are agreements and monitoring mechanisms in place to ensure that US funds are used for verified GOU expenses; the types of expenses for which U.S. funds can be used are specifically enumerated in those agreements."