Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced founder of collapsed crypto exchange FTX, has reignited claims that his 2022 arrest was politically motivated, alleging the Biden administration targeted him after he shifted political donations to Republicans. In a recent post on GETTR, Bankman-Fried stated he moved from a center-left stance in 2020 to a centrist position in 2022, citing frustration with regulatory enforcement under former SEC Chair Gary Gensler and the Biden-era Justice Department. He disclosed private donations of "tens of millions" to Republicans, claiming the Biden administration "had him arrested weeks before the crypto bill I was working on was set for a vote-and the night before I was set to testify before Congress," the report said.
The timing of Bankman-Fried's arrest has drawn scrutiny from lawmakers and watchdogs. House Republicans at the time questioned whether the move aimed to "prevent Sam Bankman-Fried from testifying," demanding Gensler produce internal communications. Bankman-Fried alleged that Gensler "conveniently lost" relevant messages, a claim supported by a September 2025 report from the SEC's Office of Inspector General (OIG). The OIG confirmed that an automated IT policy triggered an "enterprise wipe" of Gensler's government-issued phone between October 2022 and September 2023, erasing nearly a year of text messages, the article noted. This period coincided with major SEC enforcement actions against crypto firms like Coinbase and Binance, as well as the collapse of FTX.
The phone wipe has intensified allegations of political bias. The OIG report attributed the deletion to a "poorly understood" IT policy and a failure to sync Gensler's device with the SEC's system. Critics, including crypto advocates and lawmakers, argue the lost messages could have provided critical context for the SEC's actions during the FTX crisis. House Republicans have since launched an inquiry into the SEC's record-keeping practices, citing concerns about transparency and compliance with federal laws, CoinCentral reported. Meanwhile, Coinbase has accused the SEC of "destruction of evidence" and called for sanctions, further fueling the debate over regulatory accountability.
Bankman-Fried's legal team continues to challenge his 25-year prison sentence, arguing his prosecution was driven by political motives rather than financial misconduct. Prosecutors, however, maintain he diverted $1.7 billion in customer funds to his hedge fund, Alameda Research, and used them for speculative trades, real estate, and political donations. Bankman-Fried's parents have reportedly sought clemency from President Donald Trump, who pardoned Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht in January 2025. Trump's administration has not publicly commented on the request, though Bankman-Fried has framed his case as part of a broader "prosecutorial overreach" under the Biden administration, the article observed.
The FTX founder's political donations have also drawn legal scrutiny. Federal prosecutors allege he violated campaign finance laws by funneling $80 million in customer funds to candidates and PACs, including $27 million to the Democratic-aligned super PAC Protect Our Future. Bankman-Fried has denied wrongdoing, claiming his GOP donations were "dark" and made to avoid media backlash. His legal challenges and clemency efforts highlight the tangled intersection of crypto, politics, and regulatory enforcement, with implications for future industry oversight, the Time article concluded.
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