Stanford University, headquartered in California, has announced its intention to refund all funds it had received from the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, as reported by Bloomberg.
The university disclosed that it had received a sum of $5.5 million in donations from various FTX-associated entities between November 2021 and May 2022.
In a statement released via email on September 19th, a spokesperson from Stanford revealed their plan, stating, “We have been in discussions with attorneys for the FTX debtors to recover these gifts and we will be returning the funds in their entirety.”
Stanford clarified that the donations it had received were primarily intended for pandemic-related prevention and research purposes and had been given by the FTX Foundation and FTX-related companies.
Interestingly, the parents of Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX, both have affiliations with Stanford Law School and are legal scholars. This connection adds an intriguing layer to the story.
Stanford’s decision to sever financial ties with FTX comes in the wake of allegations against SBF’s parents, Alan Bankman and Barbara Fried, who are accused of embezzling millions from the cryptocurrency exchange.
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The FTX debtors initiated a lawsuit on September 18th, alleging that the duo had inappropriately diverted funds from their involvement with the exchange for personal enrichment, totaling millions of dollars.
The court documents reveal that Bankman had concerns about his annual salary, which was set at $200,000, and these concerns went unaddressed by SBF or FTX US. Bankman had reportedly expected an annual salary of $1 million.
On September 19th, SBF’s legal team sought his early release from jail to prepare for his upcoming trial scheduled for October.
During the hearing, one of the judges pointed out that SBF’s arguments about his First Amendment rights were no longer relevant due to his alleged attempts to intimidate a witness, Caroline Ellison, who is the former CEO of Alameda Research.
In sum, Stanford University’s decision to return the funds it received from FTX-related entities is an interesting development amidst the legal troubles facing SBF’s parents and the ongoing investigations into FTX’s financial dealings.
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