FIRST ON FOX: Several House Republicans are pressing Secretary of State Antony Blinken over their concerns that Ukraine’s military aid may be improperly invested in bankrupt crypto exchange FTX Trading Limited. Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, took the letter with several of his GOP colleagues to Blinken, expressing their concerns about the potential investment of Ukraine’s military financial aid in FTX, whose founder Sam Bankman-Friedmade significant donations to Democrats this midterm cycle. “This whole situation stinks to high heaven,” Nehls told Fox News Digital. “I voted against Ukraine’s spending in the House and for good reason.” WHAT IS THE ALLEGED CONNECTION BETWEEN SAM BANKMAN-FRIED, FTX, DEMOCRATS AND UKRAINE? Representative Troy Nehls sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressing concerns about the potential investment of Ukraine’s military financial aid into FTX, whose founder Sam Bankman-Friedmade significant donations to Democrats this midterm year (Getty Images / Getty Images) “We have no idea where this money is going and how much will actually support Ukraine’s defense,” Nehls continued. “Now that we have the majority in Parliament, we will get to the bottom of it.” In the letter received exclusively from FOX Business, lawmakers wrote that it “came to their attention that billions of taxpayer dollars sent to Ukraine to aid their war effort were potentially invested in a crypto exchange that then made massive donations to Democrats” during the midterm elections. Nehls and Republicans wrote that the Ukrainian government formally partnered with FTX in March to “launch a crypto donation site, “Aid for Ukraine,”” days after President Joe Biden pledged billions of US taxpayer dollars to help the country in the war effort against Russia. invasion.” “While this partnership has been touted as a way to help Ukraine redeem crypto donations for munitions and humanitarian aid, we have serious concerns that the Ukrainian government may have invested portions of the nearly $66 billion in U.S. financial aid into FTX to keep Power Democrats – and keep the money coming,” the lawmakers wrote. The Republicans wrote that Bankman-Fried “was the second largest contributor to Democratic-affiliated political action committees (PACS) and organizations, behind only liberal billionaire George Soros.” A State Department spokesperson told FOX Business that the department “has no reason to believe that these reports are nothing but outright lies and misinformation.” (Olivier Douliery/Pool Photo via AP / AP Newsroom) “Federal Election Commission (FEC) data found that Bankman-Fried funneled nearly $40 million during the midterm election cycle, with most of his contributions to the Protect Our Future PAC and the House Majority PAC, which they exclusively supported Democratic candidates,” they continued. “Additionally, Gabe Bankman Fried, brother of FTX’s founder, worked until last year for Democratic Congressman Sean Casten of Illinois, who sits on the House Financial Services Committee that oversees cryptocurrency markets and Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs),” they added. the legislators. The Republicans wrote that what is “even more troubling is that on Nov. 11, three days after the 2022 midterms, FTX filed for bankruptcy” and that “up to $2 billion in client funds has been reported to have disappeared through a backdoor that housed in financial software’. “We sincerely hope that the main driver behind the billions in congressional aid to Ukraine were not Democrats trying to stay in office, and that none of the missing funds were used as a means to circumvent campaign finance laws or to end up in the pockets of the Democrats”. the lawmakers wrote. Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and CEO of FTX Cryptocurrency Paravatives Exchange, during the Bloomberg Crypto Summit in New York. On Friday, his net worth was estimated at zero, after being worth billions of dollars days earlier. (Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images) Nehls and his colleagues asked Blinken if the State Department has “any knowledge that anyone in the Biden administration, Congress or Democratic-affiliated PACs intended the money the US sent to Ukraine to help the war effort be invested on a crypto exchange , including FTX, or be funneled back into the United States to influence the 2022 midterm elections,” and if so, who those actors are. Lawmakers also asked whether the Biden administration would review the Ukrainian aid that has been sent so far. A State Department spokesperson told FOX Business that the department does not comment on congressional mail as a standard practice. The spokesman also said the State Department “has no reason to believe these reports are nothing but outright lies and misinformation.” “U.S. direct financial assistance to the government of Ukraine cannot be used for a program as alleged, and our monitoring mechanisms have not identified a deviation from the expected use of the funds,” the spokesman said. “Direct fiscal support provided by the United States to the Government of Ukraine is channeled through a World Bank mechanism to the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine,” they continued. “Agreements and monitoring mechanisms are in place to ensure that US funds are used for verified GOU expenses. The types of expenses for which US funds can be used are specifically listed in these agreements.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The GOP letter comes in the wake of the FTX bankruptcy that set the crypto market on fire as billions of dollars were lost. Joining Nehls in the letter are three of his fellow GOP lawmakers: Reps. Louie Gohmert of Texas, Mary Miller of Illinois and Byron Donalds of Florida.
