Vox Media to Return Most of Grant it Got From Disgraced FTX Co-Founder Sam Bankman-Fried and His Brother

Vox Media plans to return most of the grant it got from disgraced FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried and his brother, Gabe Bankman-Fried.

CNN senior media reporter Oliver Darcy first reported this development on Monday.

Vox Media received a $200,000 grant from the Bankman-Fried brothers through the Future Perfect, which looks at “technological and innovation bottlenecks that hamper human progress.”

According to Darcy, a Vox Media “spokesperson said $14,000 of the funds was suspended before news about SBF’s alleged fraud broke and the project was put on hold.”

“If and when a restitution fund is created, Future Perfect intends to turn over the balance to that fund,” the spokesperson told Darcy.

Bankman-Fried was arrested and indicted last week on eight charges: conspiracy to commit wire fraud on customers, wire fraud on customers, conspiracy to commit wire fraud on lenders, wire fraud on lenders, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to defraud the United States and violate campaign finance laws.

On Monday, he agreed to be extradited to the United States. If convicted on all charges, Bankman-Fried, who went from being worth more than $20 billion to almost nothing, could face up to 115 years in prison.

Additionally, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Bankman-Fried with two civil counts of securities fraud while the Commodity Futures Trading Commission charged him with two civil counts of fraud.