• The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) has announced its plans to refund $550,000 in donations received from the now-bankrupt FTX crypto exchange.
• FTX had donated a total of $93 million between March 2020 and November 2022 to various organizations and politicians.
• 19 out of 180 US politicians who received money from FTX have returned their donations or have indicated their intent to do so.
Met Museum Refunds Donated Funds from Bankruptcy-Struck Crypto Exchange
FTX Donations Totalling $93 Million
The cryptocurrency exchange FTX filed for bankruptcy protection on November 11th and 14th, 2022 and since then, its management has been attempting to reclaim the donations it made prior to the filing. A total of $93 million was contributed by FTX between March 2020 and November 2022 to various organizations and politicians. Of these recipients, 19 out of 180 US politicians who received funds from FTX have either returned the donations or shown an intent to do so. The largest beneficiary of these funds is “Protect our Future PAC” which received approximately $27 million.
The Metropolitan Museum Returns Donated Funds
In June 2nd’s submission to the US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware where FTX’s proceedings began, The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) declared its intention to return the two tranches of donation that it had received; a total amounting to $550,000 ($300,000 in March 2022 followed by another $250,000 two months later). This refund resulted from “good faith, arm’s length negotiations” with FTX’s debtors as expressed by the museum itself.
Debtors-in-Possession Maintain Company Control
As debtors-in-possession, FTX Trading Ltd.’s affiliated creditors keep control over their companies and keep them running while their Chapter 11 cases are being jointly administered as approved by the court earlier on.
Other Recipients Decline Refunds
Apart from The Metropolitan Museum, other recipients such as Democrats intend on returning at least $9.85 million in donations but several others remain unconvinced about doing so until further clarification is provided regarding potential legal implications they may face due to receiving funds from a now bankrupt firm like FTX.
Conclusion
The Metropolitan Museum has decided to return its donation of $550k from the now defunct crypto exchange firm -FTX-. This decision came following successful arm’s length negotiations with Ftx’s debtors whilst other recipients still remain uncertain about returning their respective funds until further clarifications are provided regarding possible legal implications they may face due receiving funds from a bankrupt company like Ftx .