The fallout from the FTX Group disaster continues to be felt almost a year after the once-popular FTX changing He filed for US bankruptcy law. More than 10 months after that decision and the fall from grace of the firm’s founder and then-CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, the FTX scandal has left an unexpected victim: Stanford University.

The reason was the funds he received at that time.

A poisonous gift. In hindsight, that’s what Stanford University received at the time. cryptocurrency exchange FTX and people affiliated with the platform. The University of California acknowledged that media outlets such as Insider, CNN or AP News received gifts from the FTX Foundation and related companies, without specifying amounts, dates or going into details.

What a mystery. No for what? Stanford assures that the “majority” of the contributions are allocated to “pandemic-related prevention and research.” Now those responsible guarantee that they will return the money.

But… Why this decision? To understand this, you first need to know the context. The university’s decision to get rid of the “gifts” comes after a lawsuit against the parents of FTX’s founder, alleging the California institution received millions of dollars in donations. It would not be a coincidence that these amounts reached the center in America and not another American center. Bankman-Fried’s father and mother, Joe Bankman and Barbara Fried, who is now retired, are law professors at Stanford.

FTX’s former CEO’s lawsuit against his parents offers some interesting details and amounts. The text alleges that Bankman donated more than $5.5 million from FTX to Stanford University, the institution where he once worked. The purpose of the complaint is to recover funds “fraudulently transferred and misappropriated” by Joe Bankman and Barbara Fried. They are accused of diverting “millions of dollars from FTX Group for their own personal gain and petty purposes,” echoing the words of FTX lawyers.

What does the university say? The case is quite strong and alleges that Bankman attempted to “favor and enrich his employer” at the expense of the group by allocating more than $5.5 million from FTX to Stanford University, which resulted in bankruptcy. The accusation is so serious that those in charge of the California institution decided to speak out. And they did this to convey two messages.

First, that the funds they received were raised “largely for prevention and research purposes related to the pandemic.” The second message, and probably the most relevant, is that they are committed to issuing a refund. “We are in discussions with FTX borrowers’ attorneys to recover these gifts and will return the funds in full,” he says.

What about Bankman-Fried’s parents? At the outset, it’s important to clarify that, as CNN recalls, to date neither Bankman nor Fried have been criminally charged with improprieties. However, his lawyers were quick to make another statement, calling the accusations “completely unfounded”.

The lawyers go further, calling the content “a dangerous attempt to intimidate the parents of FTX’s former CEO and undermine the jury process just days before their son’s trial begins.” The lawsuit alleges that Bankman and Fried accepted a gift of approximately $10 million and a luxury property in the Bahamas worth $16.4 million from FTX.

What about this now? If nothing changes, Sam Bankman-Fried will appear in court on October 3 on fraud charges following the collapse of the company almost a year ago. changing FTX is now led by turnaround expert John Ray.

Cover photo: FTX

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