Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s father is linked to ‘dark money’ network that poured billions into liberal causes – as failed crypto exchange tries to claw back MILLIONS his parents ‘siphoned’ away

The father of disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is said to have been linked to a so-called ‘dark money’ network that pours billions into politically liberal causes.

In a lawsuit this week, attorneys for FTX accused Bankman-Fried’s parents, Allan Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, of siphoning millions from the company, which is trying to recover the money.

A footnote to the filing states that Bankman “served on the advisory board of Arabella Advisors,” a leading for-profit consulting firm that manages a network of closely related nonprofits that support liberal causes.

Arabella spokesperson Steve Samson told DailyMail.com that the claim is false and that Bankman “never had any role at Arabella Advisors.”

However, he added that the New Venture Fund, one of five nonprofits closely associated with Arabella, “has publicly noted that it has briefly worked with the FTX Foundation to provide administrative services for some of its grantmaking .’

Arabella was founded by former Clinton administration appointee Eric Kessler (above), and its network of associated nonprofits spent more than $1.2 billion in 2020, taking advantage of tax rules that often obscure the identity of conceal the donors.

“NVF also noted that Mr Bankman served in an advisory role on the project at NVF which was affiliated with the FTX Foundation,” he added.

The New Venture Fund did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but a spokesperson said Fox newswhich first reported Bankman’s ties to the group, saying it had worked with Bankman prior to FTX’s collapse last November.

“In early 2022, the NVF made grants from a project advised by Mr Bankman and affiliated with the FTX Foundation, all of which went to carefully vetted charities addressing environmental challenges and hunger,” the fund’s spokesperson told Fox.

“This is a pending legal matter and any remaining funds will be returned based on the resolution of that lawsuit.”

Arabella was founded by former Clinton administration appointee Eric Kessler, and its network of associated nonprofits spent more than $1.2 billion in 2020, taking advantage of tax rules that often obscure the identities of donors.

In a letter to the Wall Street Journal Last year, Arabella emphasized that it is a simple “service provider that supports its non-profit clients with operational services” such as HR and accounting.

But critics note that these clients include closely affiliated nonprofits such as the Sixteen Thirty Fund The Atlantic Ocean called ‘the undisputed heavyweight of democratic dark money’.

The New Venture Fund has done a similar study. Lee Bodner, a former director of Arabella Advisors, is president of the nonprofit, which advances a wide range of progressive policies in areas such as climate change and gender equality.

NVF’s backers include Jeff Bezos, MacKenzie Scott, Melinda French Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, as well as foundations such as Ford and MacArthur.

According to court documents, FTX had previously transferred $8 million to the Arabella-managed New Venture Fund.

Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to charges that he siphoned corporate funds to make lavish real estate purchases, political donations and to prop up his hedge fund.

The complaint filed by FTX on Monday as part of the company’s bankruptcy case in Delaware seeks to recover millions from Bankman and Fried, accusing them of siphoning off money “for their own personal gain and their favored causes.” ‘

FTX went bankrupt in November when the global stock exchange ran out of money after the equivalent of a bank run.

Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to charges that he siphoned corporate funds to make lavish real estate purchases, political donations and finance risky trades at Alameda Research, his cryptocurrency hedge fund.

His federal fraud trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 3 in Manhattan.

Several other former FTX executives have pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges and are cooperating with investigators.

The lawsuit alleges that Bankman, a Stanford University law professor and tax law expert, and Fried, a retired Stanford law professor, participated in the misconduct that led to FTX’s collapse and resulted in both criminal and civil investigations.

Stanford said this week that it will refund the money from all gifts collected from FTX and affiliated companies.