Asset Recovery: Effective Ventures Return $27M in Donations to FTX Bankruptcy Estate

Effective Ventures Foundations, a UK-based charity organization, announced it had returned approximately $27 million in donations from Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) to FTX bankruptcy estate.

$27M in Donations Reimbursed

In a recent statement, Effective Ventures noted that as part of the settlement, its UK and US subsidiaries have collectively paid the estate $26.8 million.

According to the charity, which supports effective altruism, the payment is equivalent to 100% of the funds both entities had received from FTX and the FTX Foundation through SBF in 2022.

The foundation noted that “all of this money was either originally received from FTX or allocated to pay the settlement with the knowledge and support of their original donor.” Thus, the charity mentioned that it can now continue to raise funds with confidence that donations won’t be used to cover the cost of this settlement. 

Following the donation it received around June of 2022, Effective Ventures’ revenue jumped 3x that year from £18.6m (worth $23.6 million at the current rate) in 2021 to £55.7 million ($70.6 million), while its expenditure climbed from £14.1m ($17.8 million) to £37.5m ($47.5 million). However, the firm noted its primary sources of income at that time were donations from individuals and grant income from Open Philanthropy, a grant-making foundation that supports effective altruism.

FTX Implosion 

FTX collapsed and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US in November 2022 after its convicted founder SBF diverted and misappropriated customers’ deposits on the exchange.

In its latest announcement, Effective Ventures condemned SBF’s fraudulent activity that led to the implosion of the exchange.

Effective Ventures noted that it conducted its own investigation and found that no one at the firm, including the trustees, knew that SBF had committed fraud, leading to the collapse of FTX.

In November, SBF was convicted on seven federal criminal charges related to the collapse of FTX. The preceding judge has set his sentencing hearing for March 28, 2024.