Ryan Salame, a former executive at collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has been sentenced to 90 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy charges involving unlawful political contributions.
He was also charged with defrauding the Federal Election Commission while operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, the US Attorney’s Office announced on Tuesday.
Salame was a close associate of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for defrauding customers and investors in his failed crypto exchange FTX.
Bankman-Fried was also accused of making illegal political donations, though the Department of Justice has decided not to pursue the allegations.
US Attorney Damian Williams stated: "Ryan Salame agreed to advance the interests of FTX, Alameda Research, and his co-conspirators through an unlawful political influence campaign and through an unlicensed money-transmitting business, which helped FTX grow faster and larger by operating outside of the law.
“Salame’s involvement in two serious federal crimes undermined public trust in American elections and the integrity of the financial system. Today’s sentence underscores the substantial consequences for such offenses."
From 2020 onwards, Salame participated in a scheme with Bankman-Fried and another former FTX executive Nishad Singh to make political contributions that obscured Bankman-Fried’s involvement.
These contributions aimed to enhance Bankman-Fried’s influence in Washington to secure favourable legislation for FTX and Alameda Research.
Over 300 illegal contributions totalling tens of millions of dollars were made using corporate funds and false donor names, said the Attorney’s Office.
In addition to the prison sentence, Salame has been ordered to serve three years of supervised release, pay over $6 million in forfeiture, and more than $5 million in restitution.
The sentence was handed down by US District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan.