The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City has decided to refund $550,000 in donations it received from the now-bankrupt crypto exchange, FTX.
The museum made this decision known in a document submitted on June 2 to the US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, where FTX initiated its bankruptcy proceedings.
The museum’s choice to return the donations comes after engaging in “good faith, arm’s length negotiations” with FTX’s creditors. The exchange gave the money in two installments: $250,000 in May 2022 and another $300,000 in March 2022. The company that ran FTX, West Realm Shires Services, coordinated these donations.
Other FTX Donations
FTX management has been actively seeking to recover its donations from various organizations and politicians. This has been since December, which was a month after declaring bankruptcy.
According to court records, the exchange made donations amounting to $93 million between March 2020 and November 2022. However, out of the 180 US lawmakers who received funds from the now-bankrupt crypto exchange, only 19 have either returned the money or expressed their intention to do so.
Market Watch data reveals that the “Protect our Future PAC” has been the largest recipient of the donations, receiving over $27 million. On November 11 and 14, 2022, FTX Trading Ltd. and its related creditors filed for bankruptcy protection.
They continue to run and maintain control of their businesses as debtors in possession. The court earlier granted combined administration of the Chapter 11 cases.
