FTX Charity Recipient Under Investigation

In Brief

• Sam Bankman-Fried was a significant funder of the charity Effective Ventures.
• It is registered in England, Wales, the Netherlands, and the United States.
• FTX, under John Ray III, is working on getting charity recipients to return the funds.

A U.K. regulator is investigating the Effective Ventures Foundation, a charity having ties with FTX. Sam Bankman-Fried was a significant donor to the organization.

Bankman-Fried, the disgraced boss of FTX, frequently made it to the headlines for his Robin Hood image, charity, and political donations. In Apr. 2022, Bloomberg reported that SBF wants to give his fortune away. Not to mention, he did give his fortune away in Nov., but not to charity.

The Charity Commission, a charity regulator in England and Wales, announced that it had opened an inquiry on Effective Ventures.

Effective Ventures’ Assets at Risk Following FTX Bankruptcy
Effective Ventures and its entities have registrations in England, Wales, the Netherlands, and the United States. The charity supports impactful organizations in achieving their goals.

The Charity Commission report mentions that FTX significantly contributed to Effective Ventures. However, the inquiry has cleared the charity’s trustees of any wrongdoings for the time being. It says, “The trustees have been cooperating fully with the Commission.”

The inquiry aims to investigate the potential risks to Effective Ventures’ assets and help ensure the trustees handle their responsibilities. It will also look into the relationship between trustees and donors.

Howie Lempel, the Interim CEO at Effective Ventures, declared that they would continue cooperating with the inquiry. He says, “The trustees have carefully assessed the financial situation and the charity is not reliant on the FTX-related funds for its future operations.”

John Ray III Seeks Return of Charitable Payments
While some charities have already returned the donations to FTX, the new CEO, John Ray III, urges others to do the same. FTX also warned of possible legal actions against those recipients that do not voluntarily return the donations made by the former CEO.

Alignment Research Center, a nonprofit organization focused on machine learning, voluntarily returned $1.25 million to new FTX management. They believe the money “morally” belongs to the FTX customers, if not legally.

Disclaimer
BeInCrypto has reached out to company or individual involved in the story to get an official statement about the recent developments, but it has yet to hear back.