Met museum to refund $550k in donations from FTX

In the aftermath of FTX’s bankruptcy, The Metropolitan Museum of Art confirms its decision to return $550,000 in donations from the crypto exchange.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, has declared its intentions to refund $550,000 it received from FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange that folded last November. The museum stated its decision in a submission to the US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware on June 2, where FTX started its bankruptcy proceedings.

The repayment results from “good faith, arm’s length negotiations” with FTX’s debtors, with the museum expressing a desire to return the donations.

FTX contributed the amount in two tranches; $300,000 in March 2022 and another $250,000 two months later, in May. West Realm Shires Services facilitated these donations to the firm that operated FTX.US.

Other FTX donations

Since December, a month after filing for bankruptcy, FTX’s management has endeavored to recover its donations from various organizations and politicians. Court documents reveal that FTX donated $93 million between March 2020 and November 2022.

However, only 19 of about 180 US politicians who received funds from FTX have either returned the donations or indicated their intent to do so. The “Protect our Future PAC” is the largest FTX beneficiary, receiving approximately $27 million, per Market Watch data.

FTX Trading Ltd. and its affiliated creditors voluntarily filed for bankruptcy protection on November 11 and 14, 2022. As debtors-in-possession, they maintain control of their companies and keep them running. The Chapter 11 cases may be jointly administered since the court previously approved this.