Former FTX exec Ryan Salame under investigation for suspected campaign finance violations: WSJ

US prosecutors have launched an investigation into former FTX executive Ryan Salameh for possible violations of campaign finance laws in support of his girlfriend Michelle Bond. wall street journal report This was revealed on July 11, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Bond ran as the Republican candidate for Congress in the 2022 New York Republican primary. She announced the campaign in June 2022.

Mr. Bond has been in the cryptocurrency industry for almost a decade, most recently serving as CEO of the Digital Asset Market Association, a cryptocurrency trading body.

probe

The investigation has been ongoing since at least April, the report said. At the time, prosecutors raided the couple’s Maryland mansion and confiscated their mobile phones.

U.S. law prohibits political campaigns from receiving funds above a certain amount from individuals or organizations. This includes cumulative limits.

A person familiar with the matter told the newspaper that the purpose of the investigation is to establish whether the couple contributed more than the imposed limit.

The report said prosecutors were focusing on money personally donated by Mr. Salameh and loans made by Mr. Bond himself to the campaign.

This investigation is unrelated to the lawsuit against FTX and its founder Sam Bankman-Fried.

Salameh was not charged in the FTX case, but was listed in the filing as an anonymous collaborator in a section on illegal political contributions, according to the report. Donations listed on submissions are not related to bonds.

Former FTX exec Ryan Salameh under investigation for campaign finance fraud: WSJ article first appeared on CryptoSlate.