Business

Bankman-Fried faces more criminal charges, allegedly hid political donations

Published

2 years ago

February 23, 2023

Former FTX chief executive Sam Bankman-Fried leaves the Manhattan federal court, in New York, on Feb. 16.EDUARDO MUNOZ/Reuters

Sam Bankman-Fried was hit with new criminal charges on Thursday, in an expanded indictment accusing the founder of the now-bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange of conspiring to make more than 300 illegal political donations.

Mr. Bankman-Fried now faces 12 criminal charges, including four for fraud and eight for conspiracy, up from eight charges in an earlier indictment, to which he has pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors have accused Mr. Bankman-Fried of stealing billions of dollars in FTX customer funds to plug losses at Alameda Research, his crypto-focused hedge fund.

The new charges add to pressure on the 30-year-old former billionaire, who has seen two of his former top lieutenants plead guilty.

Mr. Bankman-Fried is also trying to stay out of jail, after his online activity since his arrest prompted U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who oversees the case, to signal a willingness to revoke his US$250-million bail package.

A spokesman for Mr. Bankman-Fried declined to comment.

Mr. Bankman-Fried’s trial is slated for October. Justice Kaplan on Thursday extended a temporary ban on Mr. Bankman-Fried’s contacting FTX and Alameda employees to March 3 from Feb. 24.

The new indictment said Mr. Bankman-Fried conspired with two former FTX executives to donate tens of millions of dollars in order to influence lawmakers to pass legislation favourable to the company.

Those donations were unlawful because they were made with “straw” donors or corporate funds, enabling Mr. Bankman-Fried – one of the largest donors to Democrats in the 2022 midterm elections – to evade contribution limits, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said Mr. Bankman-Fried directed one executive to donate primarily to left-leaning candidates and organizations and the other to Republicans, with many donations funded by Alameda and including FTX customer funds.

That executive gave more than $1-million to a pro-LGBTQ group at Mr. Bankman-Fried’s direction, the indictment said.

Federal Election Commission records show that Nishad Singh, FTX’s former engineering chief, contributed US$1.1-million on July 7, 2022, to the LGBTQ Victory Fund, a national organization dedicated to electing openly LGBTQ people.

In a statement, the group said it has “set aside funds and will take appropriate action once we receive guidance from authorities.”

A lawyer for Mr. Singh did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

After founding FTX in 2019, Mr. Bankman-Fried rode a boom in the value of Bitcoin and other digital assets to attain an estimated US$26-billion fortune.

His exchange collapsed in November amid a flurry of customer withdrawals over concerns the exchange was commingling assets with Alameda.

When it became clear FTX could not meet withdrawal demands, Mr. Bankman-Fried directed Alameda to sell assets to pay the exchange’s customers, prosecutors said.

The indictment said that on Nov. 6, five days before FTX’s bankruptcy filing, Mr. Bankman-Fried forwarded CC-1 a message from Caroline Ellison, then Alameda’s chief executive.

“I just had an increasing dread of this day that was weighing on me for a long time,” Ms. Ellison wrote, “and now that it’s actually happening it just feels great to get it over with one way or another.”

Ms. Ellison and former FTX technology chief Gary Wang pleaded guilty to fraud charges in December and agreed to co-operate with prosecutors.

The new charges against Mr. Bankman-Fried include conspiracies to commit bank fraud and operate an unlicensed money transmitting business.

Prosecutors said Mr. Bankman-Fried told an unnamed California bank he wanted to open an account for a trading company, but intended the account to process deposits and withdrawals for FTX customers.

The bank had previously told Mr. Bankman-Fried it was unwilling to process such transactions, the indictment read.

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Business

Carry On Canadian Business. Carry On!

Published

3 hours ago

October 22, 2024

Steven Kaszab

Human Resources Officers must be very busy these days what with the general turnover of employees in our retail and business sectors. It is hard enough to find skilled people let alone potential employees willing to be trained. Then after the training, a few weeks go by then they come to you and ask for a raise. You refuse as there simply is no excess money in the budget and away they fly to wherever they come from, trained but not willing to put in the time to achieve that wanted raise.

I have had potentials come in and we give them a test to see if they do indeed know how to weld, polish or work with wood. 2-10 we hire, and one of those is gone in a week or two. Ask that they want overtime, and their laughter leaving the building is loud and unsettling. Housing starts are doing well but way behind because those trades needed to finish a project simply don’t come to the site, with delay after delay. Some people’s attitudes are just too funny. A recent graduate from a Ivy League university came in for an interview. The position was mid-management potential, but when we told them a three month period was needed and then they would make the big bucks they disappeared as fast as they arrived.

Government agencies are really no help, sending us people unsuited or unwilling to carry out the jobs we offer. Handing money over to staffing firms whose referrals are weak and ineffectual. Perhaps with the Fall and Winter upon us, these folks will have to find work and stop playing on the golf course or cottaging away. Tried to hire new arrivals in Canada but it is truly difficult to find someone who has a real identity card and is approved to live and work here. Who do we hire? Several years ago my father’s firm was rocking and rolling with all sorts of work. It was a summer day when the immigration officers arrived and 30+ employees hit the bricks almost immediately. The investigation that followed had threats of fines thrown at us by the officials. Good thing we kept excellent records, photos and digital copies. We had to prove the illegal documents given to us were as good as the real McCoy.

Restauranteurs, builders, manufacturers, finishers, trades-based firms, and warehousing are all suspect in hiring illegals, yet that becomes secondary as Toronto increases its minimum wage again bringing our payroll up another $120,000. Survival in Canada’s financial and business sectors is questionable for many. Good luck Chuck!. at least your carbon tax refund check should be arriving soon.

Steven Kaszab
Bradford, Ontario
skaszab@yahoo.ca

Business

Imperial to cut prices in NWT community after low river prevented resupply by barges

Published

6 hours ago

October 22, 2024

Anne Joseph

NORMAN WELLS, N.W.T. – Imperial Oil says it will temporarily reduce its fuel prices in a Northwest Territories community that has seen costs skyrocket due to low water on the Mackenzie River forcing the cancellation of the summer barge resupply season.

Imperial says in a Facebook post it will cut the air transportation portion that’s included in its wholesale price in Norman Wells for diesel fuel, or heating oil, from $3.38 per litre to $1.69 per litre, starting Tuesday.

The air transportation increase, it further states, will be implemented over a longer period.

It says Imperial is closely monitoring how much fuel needs to be airlifted to the Norman Wells area to prevent runouts until the winter road season begins and supplies can be replenished.

Gasoline and heating fuel prices approached $5 a litre at the start of this month.

Norman Wells’ town council declared a local emergency on humanitarian grounds last week as some of its 700 residents said they were facing monthly fuel bills coming to more than $5,000.

“The wholesale price increase that Imperial has applied is strictly to cover the air transportation costs. There is no Imperial profit margin included on the wholesale price. Imperial does not set prices at the retail level,” Imperial’s statement on Monday said.

The statement further said Imperial is working closely with the Northwest Territories government on ways to help residents in the near term.

“Imperial Oil’s decision to lower the price of home heating fuel offers immediate relief to residents facing financial pressures. This step reflects a swift response by Imperial Oil to discussions with the GNWT and will help ease short-term financial burdens on residents,” Caroline Wawzonek, Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance and Infrastructure, said in a news release Monday.

Wawzonek also noted the Territories government has supported the community with implementation of a fund supporting businesses and communities impacted by barge cancellations. She said there have also been increases to the Senior Home Heating Subsidy in Norman Wells, and continued support for heating costs for eligible Income Assistance recipients.

Additionally, she said the government has donated $150,000 to the Norman Wells food bank.

In its declaration of a state of emergency, the town said the mayor and council recognized the recent hike in fuel prices has strained household budgets, raised transportation costs, and affected local businesses.

It added that for the next three months, water and sewer service fees will be waived for all residents and businesses.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

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Business

U.S. vote has Canadian business leaders worried about protectionist policies: KPMG

Published

6 hours ago

October 22, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – A new report says many Canadian business leaders are worried about economic uncertainties related to the looming U.S. election.

The survey by KPMG in Canada of 735 small- and medium-sized businesses says 87 per cent fear the Canadian economy could become “collateral damage” from American protectionist policies that lead to less favourable trade deals and increased tariffs

It says that due to those concerns, 85 per cent of business leaders in Canada polled are reviewing their business strategies to prepare for a change in leadership.

The concerns are primarily being felt by larger Canadian companies and sectors that are highly integrated with the U.S. economy, such as manufacturing, automotive, transportation and warehousing, energy and natural resources, as well as technology, media and telecommunications.

Shaira Nanji, a KPMG Law partner in its tax practice, says the prospect of further changes to economic and trade policies in the U.S. means some Canadian firms will need to look for ways to mitigate added costs and take advantage of potential trade relief provisions to remain competitive.

Both presidential candidates have campaigned on protectionist policies that could cause uncertainty for Canadian trade, and whoever takes the White House will be in charge during the review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement in 2026.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.

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