US Metropolitan Museum of Art to Return FTX’s $550K Donations

The Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met) has agreed to return the $550,000 donations it received from bankrupt crypto exchange FTX last year.

The donations were made by West Realm Shires Services, an affiliated entity of FTX responsible for overseeing the operations of FTX.US, the American division of the company.

The firm donated around $300,000 to the museum in March 2022 and another $250,000 in May before FTX encountered a liquidity crisis in November, leading to its devastating collapse.

Agreement in Good Faith

According to a recent court filing at the United States Bankruptcy Court in Delaware on June 2, 2023, the New York-based museum, which harbors more than 1.5 million paintings, is set to return the funds as part of a settlement aimed at repaying creditors.

The court document showed that both parties engaged in transparent negotiations, striving to achieve a mutually acceptable resolution, noting that the agreement came from the back of good faith.

“The Met wishes to return the Donations to the FTX Debtors, and the FTX Debtors and the Met have engaged in good faith, arm’s length negotiations concerning the return of the Donations,” reads the court document.

The museum said in its filing that repayments would be finalized within a month once the court approves the settlement.

FTX Seeks to Claw Back Donated Funds

FTX was one of the leading global crypto exchanges in the industry before its demise. Under the leadership of its founder and former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the firm was known for advocating the concept of impactful benevolence, utilizing funds raised by the exchange to support various commendable causes, including political campaigns.

Since its demise, the company has been trying to reclaim the donations to aid its restructuring plan. In February, it issued a press release, demanding politicians and charity organizations who received political contributions from FTX and its executives to return the funds or face legal consequences.

Court documents showed that the exchange donated approximately $93 million to 180 politicians in the United States between March 2020 and November 2022.

SBF ranked second in contributions to the Democratic party during the last election cycle, following George Soros, who claimed the top spot with a remarkable donation of over $128 million.

Meanwhile, some politicians who benefited from the company’s benevolence last year have already returned their funds, distancing themselves from the exchange.