Many in the crypto space have accused the mainstream media of deliberately trying to water down the actions of FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who is on a self-proclaimed mission, Twitter as “the most accurate” information source to position.”
As the world still recovers from the shock of FTX’s collapse and the realization that SBF has been misusing users’ funds and engaging in shady investment practices through its sister trading firm, Will Manidis, CEO of ScienceIO – a health data platform – tweeted, that SBF made one of the “highest ROI trades ever” by donating $40 million to the right politicians, which he claims enabled him to steal over $10 billion.
That’s just the publicly announced number. His actual support of the Dem election is likely over $1 billion. The money went somewhere, so where did it go?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 3, 2022
Musk responded to the tweet, claiming that the amount of money SBF actually donated to Democratic candidates is over $1 billion, which would be far more than the publicly disclosed $40 million. Formerly SBF authorized to make “dark” donations to the Republican Party. Musk asked:
“His actual Democratic election support is probably over $1 billion. The money went somewhere, so where did it go?”
Meanwhile, US House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters, a Democrat, and Senior Member Patrick McHenry, a Republican, have requested that SBF appear at a preliminary hearing scheduled for December 13.
.@SBF_FTXWe appreciate you being open in your discussions about what happened at #FTX. Your willingness to speak to the public helps the company’s customers, investors and others. To that end, we would welcome your participation in our hearing on the 13th.
— Maxine Waters (@RepMaxineWaters) December 2, 2022
Polygon CEO Ryan Wyatt responded to Waters’ request by stating that “it’s him [SBF] a criminal. What’s happening.”
Related: FTX collapse sparks curiosity about Sam Bankman-Fried, Google data shows
This latest backlash against SBF comes shortly after he gave interviews during the New York Times DealBook Summit and on Good Morning America.
During his so-called “apology tour,” SBF portrayed himself as a victim and even received a round of applause at the end of his DealBook Summit appearance. According to Twitter user and developer Naomi, “Watching the SBF interview is like watching Casey Anthony’s documentary. They’re so mechanical, they’re so inauthentic in their performance. If you feel any emotion at all, it slows people down. The way it is expressed is a separate subjective matter.”
Update (December 5, 22:10 UTC): This article previously stated that Bankman-Fried admitted to making backdoor donations to the Democratic Party. It was updated to reflect that his dark donations went to the Republican Party.